If You Love Me, Let Me Go (Or Not)
by Anonymousiana
Summary: Is it right to push the person you love to the person they've been chasing for so long? Or should you fight for their love, or at least a long lasting friendship? We'll find out... My first fan fic! I've been inspired by few Hey Arnold fan fic authors and hope I could be as good as them. Title inspired by Panic! At The Disco's "This Is Gospel".
1. The Fear Of Falling Apart

It is the end of summer. Just when I thought things were going well between me and Arnold. I've shown him my sweet side and became a better friend towards him. But that's not what I wanted. I wanted more than to just be good friends with him. My teenage dream did not come true ever since little Miss Perfect came back into the picture after being away for a month back at her hometown. Sweet, innocent _Lila_ just had to ruin my plan to tell Arnold everything. How I truly felt about him. To apologize for everything I said to him since we were kids. But no...

Arnold was more interested in hearing what Lila had to say, how her "amazing" vacation was. Everywhere we went, she tagged along and Arnold let her. Why, oh why do I still let that girl feel like she's a threat to me? Why can't I just tell Arnold how I feel already? I can be just as pretty and perfect and a whole lot nicer to Arnold, which I have been ever since our vacation started! Just thinking of all this gives me such a huge headache.

I suddenly hear my phone ring. I step away from my window to pick my phone up, realizing it is Arnold who is calling me. "Hello?", I answer.

"Hey Helga! Are you busy tonight?", he asks me so sweetly. Why must his now more mature voice warm my heart so greatly, even when I'm upset at him?

"Not really. I'm feeling a little under the weather, actually." I lied. I just need to be away from him, knowing Lila would be there with him. Damn, that red-headed girl with her perfect everything.

"Aw, but Helga. Rhonda's throwing a huge party tonight before we have to go back to school again! It wouldn't be as fun if you didn't come", he tells me. I could sense he sounded a bit upset when I told him I couldn't go.

"I'm sorry, Arnold. But everyone will be there for you to have fun with. Especially _Lila_ ", I say sourly. However, Arnold didn't notice.

"I know, and Lila has been great company ever since she came back. I would be happy if you came to the party, though."

I felt my heart clench at his words. Despite him wanting me there, I just couldn't bring myself to go. Lila was going to be there and she would have him wrapped around her pretty little finger all night. And besides, Olga is over "baby sitting" me while my parents went away for Bob's birthday. As much as I disliked my parents, I thought it was kind of sweet. And Olga wants to spend time with me before I start school again and when Miriam and Bob came back. As annoying as she is, I prefer her over Lila any day.

"Just have fun without me, Arnoldo. Really... How about we hang out tomorrow, just you and me. Would that be okay?", I ask, suddenly regretting my choice of words. It made me sound selfish. But I have a right to be.

Arnold cheerfully shouts through the phone, "Of course that would be okay! Why wouldn't it?"

I was hoping he wouldn't ask. How I dread being put on the spot for what is or what isn't okay. "Uh... No reason, no reason at all. I just wanted to make sure it was a-okay with you", I hesitate. Why do I feel so nervous that I need to see stupid words like "a-okay" to him?

"Well I'm fine with it, Helga. I just hope you'll feel better by tomorrow. It's really a shame you can't come tonight", he tells me. Oh how you make my heart flutter, Arnold. You and your stupid football head and your stupid kindness.

"I will be. Now, you have fun. Don't go crazy! Don't do anything stupid, either", I say jokingly. I hear him laugh at the other end agreeing with me. I heard myself laugh, too. Wow, it's been a long time since I laughed with Arnold.

"It's also great to be hearing you laugh. I'll let you rest now, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Helga", he says with such a kind voice. "Bye Arnold", I say trying to sound the sweetest I can be. I hang up the phone and throw myself on top of my bed. It would have been fun to go to the party, I guess. But I just couldn't risk it. After Lila left to visit her hometown, all of our classmates noticed how close Arnold and I were becoming. It was beautiful actually. Feeling noticed with him felt amazing. Rumors spread we were already a couple. Of course, that was just a rumor. Arnold and I both laughed about it. Somehow within his laughs, I felt he loved the idea of being with me enough to be my boyfriend. Again, just what I was feeling. It could've been anything.

Now that Lila's back, it feels he's head over heels for her again. And she plays with his feelings because she knows she can. I've been there more for Arnold for every moment of his life. She's always around to get something out of him and to reject him as usual. That poor fool of mine. Then again, he's not mine. And who knows if he'll ever be. I stare up at my ceiling, imagining what could have happened tonight if I did go to that party. I could have looked hot as hell that Arnold's jaw would be dropped all the way to the floor. I could have pushed Lila to the side while all eyes are on me. I could have finally had Arnold to myself, be the assertive girl that I am and just kiss him with full force. Finally making him mine and not Lila's... _Lila_. She wouldn't try to make a move on him tonight, would she?

I get up from my bed feeling a little nauseous. I was over thinking it, yeah, that's what I was doing. I know Arnold wouldn't do such a thing, especially at a public place where all our friends would be at. Then again, we're all a bunch of hormonal teenagers- Just shut it, Helga, just shut it!

Thinking of Arnold and Lila is driving me crazy. I decide to go downstairs and notice that Olga watching a movie. I didn't care to know what it was about and went straight to the kitchen. Luckily there was still warm water on the stove for me to use to make a cup of tea. Chamomile should do the trick to calm me nerves. I finished it in one gulp and went straight back to my room. It sounds like Olga has fallen asleep in the living room. We did have a long day cleaning and making dinner together. Oh, that sister of mine.

I go into my room ready to sleep myself. I had to think of other things besides Arnold and Lila. I could take that offer to hang out with Olga before class begins. I make myself comfortable in my bed with the new bed sheets Olga brought me from England. I should really ask what she does for living. I'm sure she's said it so many times that I never bother to listen to what she says.

I drift onto sleep, wishing tomorrow will be a better day than the last couple of days I had with Arnold.

It is morning. I wake up in a nasty sweat. What was I dreaming about last night? I'm sure it was nothing, I told myself. I look at my phone and see I have text message from Arnold. It says, "Good morning! Hope you're feeling better. Come meet me at Slausen's for ice cream at 12 :)". Sounds like someone had a good night. A really good one I think horribly to myself. I honestly hope nothing bad happened.

I get up from bed and look for something nice to wear. But what do I have that would look nice? I sometimes feel I should update my wardrobe. I grab a pair of black pants and a pink tank top. Pink will always be my favorite color even if it didn't match with my tough exterior. I could still look girly in a way. I grabbed my pink bow on top of my loose hair to top everything off.

As I go downstairs, Olga is already up and sees me. She gives me a big smile and says, "Ooh baby sister, you look so cute! Where are you off to?"

She can be so annoying. Doesn't she have something better to do than bug me? "I'm going out with a friend, Olga. I promised we would hang out today and ask how the party was."

"You didn't go to a party with your little friends? You could have asked me if you wanted to go. I would have happily drove you there, Helga", Olga says with a sorry look on her face.

I say, "I wasn't feeling very well. I wanted to stay home anyway."

"Well, if you ever need anything, just let me know, Helga. I hope we can still go out together before your classes start, that day is coming up very soon!", Olga tells me.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll let you know. I'll be back in a while, sis", I tell Olga as I leave the door. I think I heard her giggle when I told her that. I guess giving her my time wouldn't kill me so much. But first, I need to know how things went last night and hope I can have a Lila free day with Arnold. I hope he tells me something like Rhonda was hooking up with Harold at the party or Lila got puked on by Eugene. Those would be wonderful stories to hear.

I am almost at Slausen's and I swear I could see Arnold's head through the glass window. Even seeing his figure through a window makes me nervous. I walk into the shop and see Arnold already ordered some ice cream for us. He waves at me to the table.

"Hi Helga, how are you feeling today?", he asks genuinely. That smile of his always makes me blush. Just the way he smiles at me, although I'm sure he smiles that way at everybody else. "I'm doing pretty good. But enough about me, how was the party?", I ask him. "Oh, and thank you for ordering my ice cream before I got here."

"Not a problem, Helga", Arnold chuckles. "Well, the party was fun. Almost all our classmates were there. Sid decided to spike the punch, so I avoided it like the plague."

I laugh at the thought of everyone getting drunk at the party. Rhonda could never handle her alcohol, so I wonder how that went. "Ha ha. So what else happened?"

Arnold then stopped smiling and looked a bit nervous at me. Uh oh. Did something I felt last night happen? Did someone tell him something about me that they knew to scare him away from me? What happened?

"Helga, uh... Something else happened. It involves Lila", he tells me nervously. I didn't notice I finished all of my ice cream as soon as I felt nothing cold on my spoon. Oh god, what happened between those two? Was I about to have a stroke here? "Uh, what happened between you two?"

Arnold hesitates. "We were hanging out the moment she came in. I was telling her you weren't going to show up and I wouldn't be having as much fun with you not being there. We talked all night, and out of nowhere... She tells me she likes me likes me." I felt my heart stop for a second when he told me that.

"So... so what did you say?", I ask, hoping he rejected her. Arnold finally says, "I mean I still like her. I've liked her all these years. It's weird she finally feels this way for me! Did the country air do something to her?"

"I really don't know", I say with no interest in my tone. That girl just has to ruin everything for me.

"Anyway, Helga... She asked me to hang out with her when school starts. I know it wouldn't be fair to Gerald or you, but I just don't know. It wouldn't hurt to try hanging out with her, see how things go..."

I looked at him, hoping I wasn't looking sad and say, "If that's how you feel... Then... Hang out with her, I guess. You just said you liked her all this time..." I couldn't believe what was coming out of my mouth. Even Arnold looked surprised.

"But Helga-" Arnold said before I cut him off.

"Arnold, this summer was lots of fun. I felt great opening up to you about everything, hanging out, watching movies, even being dates with each other when Phoebe and Gerald asked us to be with them. But Lila's back and it looks like she wants you like you always wanted her", I tell him trying not to shed a tear. "I'm happy to be your friend and give you advice. Right now... Just go to Lila, the feelings are finally mutual between you two."

Arnold looks confused at me. I get up and pay him back for the ice cream. "I guess, I'll see you Monday, Arnold."

I walk away without looking at him. I couldn't tell what his expression was now. All I know is I feel heartbroken over something so stupid and decide to let him chase after his dream girl. I am so stupid. How could I ever think there would be a chance between me and Arnold? I'm not pretty nor perfect. Just a big, angry Helga Pataki. I start feeling the tears stream down my cheeks. I wipe them away with disgust. Crying over something that simply wasn't meant to be. Arnold deserves what he has been fighting for anyway. I wasn't that and I couldn't force it like I've tried to when we were kids. I'd look so foolish just even trying to play with his heart and make him love me. I'd be no better than Lila or those other girls Arnold had crushes on. I need to clear my mind badly. I pick up my phone and call Olga.

Olga answers with seconds, "Hello? Is everything okay, Helga?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Could you actually pick me up? I'm not ready to go home and... I'm ready to take your offer for us to go out and do stuff together..."

"Oh baby sister, yes! I'll pick you up in five minutes and we can finally bond like I always wanted", she says with glee.

"Perfect, sis. I'll be waiting for you."


	2. Words Are Knives And Often Leave Scars

**Here's the second chapter! I'm really happy to hear from the reviews, you guys actually like what I'm writing, yay! I just hope the story will turn out good, I'm doing the best I can for a fan fic. I usually write my own crazy stories but I feel more focused on a Hey Arnold story. I hope you guys stick through the story and give any feedback that you can. 3 Also, I'm titling chapters from lyrics from Panic! At The Disco, so I clearly don't own those lyrics but I find them perfect to the story.**

Today's the first day of the 11th grade. I asked Olga to drop me off at school since I didn't really feel much like walking today. My weekend with Olga wasn't the best, but it calmed my nerves as long as it could. She helped me get new clothes that I picked out myself. My new wardrobe felt like I was stepping into a time machine just because the clothes felt like colors I would wear when I was younger, even the designs felt like a younger me. But it was cute and mature enough for me, so I didn't mind. I still even managed to make my pink bow more fashionable by altering into a somewhat cute headband. I even decided to get a new hair cut. My long, flowy locks were all gone and I chose to go with a short hair style. Somewhat like Olga's and Miriam's, but one that would go with my personality. All of this felt weird, but good at the same time.

"Have a good day, baby sister! If you need anything just give me a call. Mummy and daddy will be back home when you come back from school", Olga says as we park in front of my high school. She gives me a peck on the forehead and a hug as I try unbuckling my seat belt.

I struggle, "Okay Olga! I'll see you later... And thanks." I get out of the car and wave at her as she she drives off. I face the school feeling a bit nervous. "There's nothing to worry about, Helga. If anyone tries to make a rude comment or give me the stink eye, just beat the crap out of them. Show them you're still tough as a rottweiler", I tell myself. I take a deep breath and walk up the steps. I open the door and, not by surprise, eyes slowly were staring at me.

"What, is it my new hair cut?.. Just get back to what you were doing", I say grumpily. I walk passed everyone that was still staring at me. Suddenly, I see Phoebe running up to me with a surprised look on her face.

"Helga! What happened to you? Why haven't you answered any of my phone calls?", she asks very concerning.

I didn't know what to exactly tell her without everyone else hearing us. "I"ll tell you later, Phoebe. At lunch behind the bleachers. Right now, I just want this day to go smoothly."

She looked a bit disappointed at me, but she understood. "Okay, Helga. By the way, I love the new clothes and hair! What made you decide on this?", she asks. She noticed a got annoyed about it, but I give her a small smile and say, "I just felt like trying something new. Let the old go and give the new a chance."

We smile at each other and I give her a slight hug as we walk to our classroom. We both step in and I see Gerald come up from his seat to give Phoebe a hug and kiss. "Whoa Pataki, what happened to you?", he says at me. I give him a quick glare, but Phoebe cuts in and tells him, "Don't bug her about it, just let her be. It makes her feel good and it shouldn't matter to anyone else."

I give Phoebe a thank you pat on the shoulder and go find an empty desk. Without one thought thinking about it, I did not expect to see Arnold and _Lila_ here. Seeing them together sitting in the back made feel ill. _Lila_ and her stupid everything. How I felt like attacking her and smashing her pretty face against the wall. And _Arnold..._ Oh how he breaks my heart just by even looking at him. I notice Arnoldlooking at me, but I ignored him and took my seat next to Eugene. I heard my name being called from behind me, but I didn't respond. Finally, I see that Arnold got up from his seat standing in front of me, but I still didn't give him my attention.

"Helga! Is that you? I just want to be sure since I haven't seen or heard from you in the last two days and you look...", Arnold says jokingly. I finally look up at him and I can tell he looks amazed by the way I look.

"Pretty?", I respond with a sour tone. "I've been busy with Olga and we've been planning for when my parents get back home today. I'm caught up in a lot of stuff right now, okay?"

He looks at me with the face of a child that looks as if his teddy bear was just taken away from him for bad behavior. "O-okay, Helga. I'm just relieved to see that you're okay and-"

"Don't worry about me, Arnold, I'm peachy. Now go back to your seat, class is about to start", I say while I look away from him staring into my schedule.

Leaving him speechless, he walks back to his seat. I turn my head quickly to see Arnold sitting down looking through his backpack. Lila eyes me and gives me a friendly wave with her stupid smile placed on her stupid face. I made sure nobody was looking, especially Arnold, and flip her the bird. Her face looked shocked and mortified that I did that to her. I guess nobody has ever done that to her before. I turn back to my desk and chuckle for a bit. Well, that made my day so far.

Our teacher finally walks in with such a rush that she almost tripped on her own feet. I wonder if she was the clutzy kind of teacher that would spill coffee on herself or drop all our exams on the floor into a scrambled mess. Either way, I shouldn't think so terribly of her on the first day just yet. She didn't look so bad, I guess. Her hair is a reddish brown in a pixie cut, she wore square-framed glass, and she is dressed in a sophisticated way with style.

She put her things down and says, "Hello class! Sorry I stormed in as if I came from a marathon." She chuckles to herself and writes her name on the board. _Mrs. Pierce._ "My name is Mrs. Pierce and I am looking forward to meeting you all. I know it's the first day, but come on", she taps at Harold's shoulder who is sleeping. The class laughs when he wakes up with drool on his face. She continues, "I want to make this a good start for your new school year so let's put those cranky faces away and form your desks into circle just for today so we can tell each other about how we spent our summer vacation"

I really hope she wasn't looking at me when she said "cranky faces". I groaned with annoyance like everyone else when we had to move our desks and were forced to look at each other. I notice Arnold fixing both his and Lila's desk together. Is she that fragile that she can't fix her own damn desk? I'm glad I'm not a weakling just like her. Although my heart tells me otherwise in the love department.

"Okay, perfect!", shouts Mrs. Pierce. "Now, who would love to volunteer first so we get the class rolling?"

The first hand to go up belonged to none other than _Lila._ I felt my blood boil just having to look at her. All eyes and smiles were on her; she sure was the popular one among everyone here in the class... Not. Mrs. Pierce cheerfully says, "Oh goodie! Now, begin by telling us your name so that I may mark you down and tell us a little about yourself and how your summer went."

Lila speaks, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Pierce, just ever so much. My name is Lila Sawyer, and I'm practically friends with everybody here in this room." Lila eyes me and flashes me a smile. That little bitch, I yelled inside my head.

"I spent my summer back in my hometown with relatives of mine I haven't seen in such a long time. I helped them in their barns, went horseback riding all across town, and even helped sell some of my family's freshest, tastiest fruit at the farmer's market. My family is well known for their fruits down in the country", she giggles to herself. "It was a shame to leave early, but I had to get ready before classes started. I also hung out with Arnold right here next to me, and we just had the best time to together. And I'm ever so happy to call him my boyfriend now," she states with rosy cheeks. Her words stung me but had the others teasing Arnold and giving a bunch of "awwws" to Lila. Arnold somehow didn't like the attention he was getting from the guys. I wouldn't like it either if I were dating Lila.

"Oh how sweet! Sounds like you had a lovely vacation, Lila. Thank you for sharing", says Mrs. Pierce. "Now, who's next?"

All eyes were on me without me realizing I raised my hand high so quickly. Oh crap, I told myself. What was I going to say? Why didn't I wait till I came up with some bogus story that sounds awesome? That Lila always gets to me. I honestly didn't know what to say.

"Alright young lady, what is your name and how did you spend your vacation? Don't be shy", Mrs. Pierce tells me kindly.

I do my best to come up with a good story. "Uh, hi. My name is Helga Pataki. I'm sure all of you know me by now."

"Oh, we ALL do", says Rhonda making the others laugh. I'm not sure whatever I had to say would make them shut up or not and I didn't want to ruin my first day more than it already is. I look at Arnold who is staring at me, giving me a gentle smile. Why is he smiling at me? Just looking at him gave me a good idea what I could say to the class.

"My vacation wasn't so bad in the beginning, I had fun every now and then with friends. _Just_ friends. My parents left to celebrate my dad's birthday leaving me with my older sister taking care of me, or rather just having company at home so I wouldn't feel alone... I recently had a self realization about my life before school started. I feel that not everything will always stay in place or if one person in your life will always be there for you. I learned if you love this one thing, like _ice cream_ or playing chess, but it hurts you mentally or makes you sick to your stomach, you have to give it up. Let it go. Learn to finally care for yourself and not care what others think. Of course I'm still that tough girl you all grew up with, but... I'm ready to experience new things. Which explains the clothes and hair. And giving my sister the attention she always wanted from me... And that's all I gotta say, move on!", I end quickly, looking away from everyone. I felt my cheeks were hot and red. I'm pretty sure no one knew what the hell I was talking about. At least I made everyone shut up.

Mrs. Pierce was confused, but politely says, "Okay Helga. Thank you for sharing, that must have been hard for you to share. What choice of words, too. I expect to see great papers from you once I start handing out assignments. Now, who's next?"

I didn't care to see or hear who was next. I think it was Rhonda trying to make herself sound cool like always. I look at Phoebe, who I'm pretty sure found out what I was talking about, especially since Lila was the first to speak. She had a sorry look on her face that made my heart swell in agony. I sent her a text from under my desk quickly, "You're one smart girl, Phoebs. I'll tell the rest at lunch"

"I don't get it, you two were spending all this time together! And Lila finally comes and decides she wants Arnold? I've never had a reason to dislike her, but this is so rotten of her!", Phoebe sharing her anger with me.

"Well, what can I do now? I let him go after her since he clearly was gaining all his feelings for her back. I have to let him go", I tell her. It really hurts to talk about it with someone finally, but I'm glad that it is Phoebe I'm talking to about it.

Phoebe shakes her head and says, "Gerald and I were rooting for you two. Lila wasn't around and we thought it would be perfect timing."

"You can't force something that isn't meant to be, Phoebe. I don't think it ever was", I respond sadly. Phoebe moves closer to me and gives me a tight hug. I feel the tears coming in again and wipe them away quickly so she wouldn't notice.

"I feel I should focus on other things now, Phoebe. I wasted so much of my time pining over Arnold and never once thought what else would make me happy. It's a change I want to embrace. Or at least try. It's time I stop giving up on things for another person who simply isn't... worth it."

Phoebe and I hear footsteps coming our way under the bleachers. By my surprise, and someone I don't want to see, _Lila_ joins us uninvited. I clench my left fist, but Phoebe holds me back.

"What are you doing here, Lila?", I ask with pure disgust.

Lila kindly responds, "I just wanted to check on you. It sounds like something has been troubling you ever since I came back from my vacation. Was something going on? You've been showing so much anger towards me."

"Whatever is going on with me shouldn't concern you, Princess", I tell her, ignoring the fact that she knows I'm pissed at her.

"Oh but it does. You're Arnold's friend! He's been worried about you and I decided to check on you myself", Lila tells me. Who does she think she is to tell me things like that?

"Lila, _darling,_ if Arnold is worried about me, he can check on me himself. Then again, I don't want him, or even _you,_ to check up on me. I can take care of myself. Now I suggest you butt out of here if you know what's good for you", I say exposing more of my anger.

"Is it because I'm with Arnold now? Are you upset I took him away from you? You two still can be friends regardless if I'm dating him or not", she says. Is she really starting with this bullshit?

"I have PLENTY of friends, Lila. I don't need anymore. If you knew how much I cared about him, why would you start this bullshit now?", I ask without trying to break down.

"You see, when we were younger, I just didn't like him that way. I wasn't emotionally prepared for him. But seeing how you two became good friends and I thought you were over your grade school crush for him, well... my feelings started to blossom in and I feel emotionally ready for Arnold now, and just the way that he is with you is what I want. I always knew he liked me liked me, and I'm sorry to say this to you Helga, but I never saw the two of you being meant for each other like everyone else saw me and Arnold being meant for each other. Everyone, even myself, feels Arnold is too good for you."

Is she really doing this to me? Is this little bitch just asking to have her face broken into tiny pieces? I felt my body feeling hot and every muscle clenching. Phoebe held me back before I did something I was going to regret.

"Just get out of here, Lila! You mess with Helga, then your messing with the deadly beast inside of me! You have no right to speak to her that way, she let him have you! So just get out of here! Get out get out GET OUT!", Phoebe yells letting go of me and chasing Lila away from us. I've never seen Phoebe get so... furious like this to anyone. Seeing that scared look on Lila's face and watching her run away was priceless, better than when I flipped her off earlier today.

"Geez Phoebe, where did all that energy come from?"

Phoebe blushes trying to catch her breath. "I care about you, Helga. And I'm really sorry that all this is happening to you. Who knew Lila would be this horrible? She's such a... Such a..."

"Say it, Phoebe, I know you can", I encourage with a smirk on my face.

"... BITCH. She's such a bitch!", Phoebe shouts, shyly covering her mouth just realizing what she said about Lila. She looks awkwardly at me and begins to laugh hysterically. I join in with her. I'm so proud of Phoebe, not because of this. But the fact that she proved to me she will always be here for me and I didn't have to risk losing her for anyone. Especially Lila. She's the greatest friend I could ever ask for. My best friend.

The school day is over and I feel a bit better. I wave Phoebe and Gerald goodbye as I start walking home. Phoebe did invite me to go get chili dogs with Gerald, but Gerald finally tells Phoebe that he invited Arnold and Lila to be friendly and because he hasn't seen much of Arnold lately. It put us in an awkward place, but we laughed it off. I declined since I promised Olga I would be home right after school. I plug in my mp3 listening to classical music as I walk. It feels comforting and powerful listening to this counting the kind of day I had. I didn't notice the shadow coming towards me and see that Arnold is right next to me. I didn't understand what he was saying to me, I slyly point at my earphones. For his sake, I have to take them off. I bet the Princess went to go and cry to him that mean old Helga Pataki threatened to kick her ass.

"What's up?", I ask him.

"Nothing. I just didn't get to see you as much today and see how you're doing?", he responds.

"I'm fine, Arnold. Shouldn't you be with your _girlfriend_? I thought Gerald invited you guys to hang out with him and Phoebe."

Arnold looks embarrassed and says, "I had to decline and Lila had to go home early. She wasn't feeling okay. I wonder if her family's fruits are really that _fresh_ to have made her puke."

We both laugh at his comment; I mainly laughed at the fact that Phoebe made her sick that she puked her lunch out. I can't wait to tell her that later, I am so proud of her.

"So where are you off to?", I ask him.

"Well... I actually thought I could hang out with you, if that's okay?", Arnold says shyly. As much as I would enjoy that, I just couldn't do that to myself. I have to stick to what I said and I want to stay away from the obstacle that put me this situation: _Lila._

With a sigh, I tell him, "It would be fun, but I have to be with my family today. Bob and Miriam are back and I don't want to disappoint Olga. I don't think they would appreciate me bringing someone over they day they just came back home from vacation."

"Oh, okay then... So when can we hang out?", he asks, hoping I give him a positive answer. He really is oblivious to what I have said in class earlier. I wasn't ready to tell him the truth and I wasn't going to. I can't even tell him I have to stay away from him because that would kill me.

So I say, "I really don't know, Arnold. I have a lot I need to take care of and I actually want to focus hard on my studies. Phoebe has inspired me to reach for something more and I aim to get into a really good university." Part of that was a lie, but Phoebe is inspiring me for so much. She cares so much for what she wants that she chose to go to summer school and finished early by no one's surprise. "Plus, you have Lila to hang out with and the boys who want to hear juicy stories from you."

"Yeah... Yeah, I do have Lila", he says with no emotion to her name. He stops me by grabbing my shoulders and asks, "Helga, things are okay between us, right? This Lila thing isn't causing any trouble, is there?"

Oh god, I hope he's not reading my mind. "Arnold, things are _great_ between us. There's nothing to worry about. You have your dream girl and I have..." I look at him and he has such a poker face on. Does he not like what I'm telling him? I hear my phone beep in my pocket, thank god! I pick it up and see Olga is picking up my parents and wants me home fast.

"Oh, I really have to go, Arnold. We'll talk about this later, okay?" I tell him even though I really don't want to talk about it. I sprint away from him without hearing his answer. I feel bad for doing that to him, but I have to think of me like I've been telling myself to do.

I made it home before Olga did, and the house felt like heaven with nobody there. I go upstairs to put my backpack away and notice Olga left a fancy looking pink dress on my bed with a note on top.

"Put this on for tonight. We're going to have a wonderful night as a family!"-Olga.

Whatever Olga is planning, it better be good. I put on the dress and it fits me perfectly. If only Arnold can see me wearing this... _Arnold._

I hear the front door open and Olga calls my name. "Helga! Did you put the dress on? Mummy and daddy are here and we're going out for dinner together!"

Hopefully tonight won't be so bad. They're not my favorite people to hang around, but at least it will distract from my school day. I really hope nobody asks about school today.

I took one last look at the mirror and fix my hair swiftly. For once, I felt myself beautiful and I didn't need anyone else to tell me so. I myself felt like a princess out of a storybook. I had to stop daydreaming before Bob goes on a rant about me. I step out of my room closing my bedroom door, finally heading downstairs. "Coming Olga!"


	3. Love Is Not A Choice

**Decided to write another chapter! Thank you for the reviews and hope you keep reading. I don't know if I did well with this chapter, but I managed. :)**

"So how was your parents coming home event?", Phoebe asks me over the phone. I just came back home after having dinner with the family and I feel quite full and tired.

"It wasn't so bad, actually. Olga bought me this gorgeous dress, we went to this fancy Italian restaurant, and my parents didn't treat me like crap for once. So I got that going for me", I respond with a smile on my face. Bob and Miriam didn't act so terrible tonight. They even thought of me to bring me back a souvenir to put on my desk. Miriam gushed over my hair and Bob was happy to hear Olga and me getting along. Of course, this is just tonight. Who knows what things will be like when Olga has to leave tomorrow. For once, I actually don't want Olga to go back home.

"I'm happy to hear, Helga", she tells me. I decide to ask how the chili dogs were with Gerald, and she seems to not want to make me worry about how her lunch date went, but I make her spill.

She hesitates, "Helga, uh... Arnold changed his mind and decided to hang out with me and Gerald. He looked upset about something, but took his mind off of it once he and Gerald catch up... Did he try walking home with you?"

"Y-yeah, he actually caught up with me and asked me to hang out since Lila went home early. Oh yeah! You made her sick to her stomach, Phoebs, she puked her whole lunch out", I tell her. I hear her laugh on the other end. I still can't get over how today went.

"Oh my goodness, Helga, I never thought I could ever do that to anyone!", she cries, still laughing. She stops and continues to ask about Arnold. "So what did you say to Arnold that got him upset? He didn't know about the Lila situation, did he?"

I explain, "No, nothing like that. I just, sorta, rejected him. I told him he has Lila now and I made up some excuse for me to not hang out with him. Why is he getting his panties in a bunch over that?"

"I'm not sure, Helga... Do you think he might actually, you know... Not be happy with Lila? I mean it's been years he's been trying to win her over and he was a kid back then. Now that he has her, it might not be what he was expecting? And that he may actually have feelings for-"

"Nah-ah! I don't want to hear it, Phoebe. I want to leave this Arnold business alone. It's not worth me getting worked up and going back to my old ways", I cut her off saying. I did think Arnold might like me in that way, but he never said anything to me. Lila was the one to say how she felt towards him before I did. That good for nothing, red-headed _twat_!

"Okay, Helga, I understand. I guess we should start heading for bed now, we've got another long day", she says with a tired voice. I agree. My first day could have been better, but it only drained me in the worst way possible. Olga wants to take me to see a play with her tomorrow, too. She says it may fit my liking, but I don't see how. At least I can do something with one last time before she leaves tomorrow night.

"See you tomorrow, Phoebs. Good night", I tell her before hanging up the phone. I've been talking to Phoebe for quite some time now, that I didn't notice I had a voice mail message on my phone. I listen to it and did not expect to hear a voice mail from Arnold.

"Hey Helga, I just wanted to check on you. Hope things went well with the family tonight! I know your dad can be such a jerk, but still hope you had a good time... I'll see you at school tomorrow, I'd love to have lunch with you. Lila will be with me of course, but I want to spend some time with you. It feels like a million years since we had a fun time together... So, goodnight! See ya tomorrow...", Arnold says awkwardly and kindly. Why does he care so much? I try not to let Phoebe's thoughts get to me, he possibly couldn't be into me. He probably just needs a friend, I guess. Lila's probably cutting him off from his friends that he can't hang out with them much. Oh well, not my problem! I delete the voice mail and start getting ready for bed.

Arnold's a sweet guy, but he's not mine. The kind of attention he's giving me should be towards Lila. She beat me to the punch. I'd be worried if I were Arnold, who knows what thing she could do if she found out he's sending me messages like this. I'd be scared to be around her if she was one of those people that would snap in any moment and go on a rampage because who she wants doesn't show her much appreciation. I'd be sorry for the next guy if Arnold decides to leave her one day. Again, not my problem!

I lay back on my bed settling to sleep. I set my alarm and keep trying to think of other things besides Arnold's voice mail to me. It's a stupid thing, I tell myself. I shouldn't get worked up over it. Suddenly my eyes close and I drift onto sleep...

* * *

 _I am standing in my old classroom at P.S. 118. The classroom is empty and every corner of the room is a tint of rose. I face the board behind me and see a huge heart written in it "Arnold loves Helga". "What the hell is this? I shout to myself. I hear someone coming in the room. I see that it is Arnold, and he's holding a piece of chalk? Did he write this instead of me?He drops the chalk on the floor and paces towards me._

 _"Helga, my dear. It is you who I want, not that wretched Lila. I was wrong, so wrong! Will you ever forgive me?", he asks kneeling in front of me grabbing my hand._

 _I hear myself say, "Of course, my love! Of course I forgive you! She is nothing but a fragile little girl, and I am all woman!" He gets up and pulls me against him, giving me a heart-warming kiss. The best kiss I ever had._

 _"I love you, Helga! And I never want to let you go!", he shouts to me._

 _"I love you, too, Arnold! Never let go!", I shout back. We continue kissing as he pushes me against the teacher's desk. He lifts me on top of the desk and starts kissing my neck. I hear myself moan and tug on his hair. I pull him on top of me and try to pull down his pants. I stop and notice he's staring at me with those beautiful green eyes of him. He just stopped moving and I didn't know what to do._

 _"Arnold... What's wrong?", I ask him. Within a blink of an eye, Arnold morphs into Lila. I scream and push her off of me. I climb off the desk and see her getting up. She looks so menacing at me. She begins to laugh at me._

 _"Oh Helga, did you really think Arnold would really love you like he love me? You must be really foolish if you believe that", she says to me with a smirk._

 _Angrily, I shout back at her, "He never said he loves you, either! He just "likes you likes you" like he always had."_

 _She laughs again. "I'm the one that has him, Helga. Not you, and you never will. Not now. Not ever."_

 _I look at the door seeing that another Arnold, the real Arnold comes into the classroom. He walks over to Lila. She looks back at me with a dirty look on her face and starts kissing Arnold right in from me. I hear myself screaming so loud the classroom cracks and fades away from me..._

I wake up so quickly as if I'm gasping for air. I look at the clock and it's barely 5:30 in the morning. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and go downstairs to the kitchen to get some water. Everyone is still sleeping and I try not to make a sound. I gulp down my glass and place it on the table. I go back upstairs quietly to my room, closing the door quickly so it wouldn't creak.

I lay back in my bed and begin to question my dream. "What the hell was that all about?", I ask myself. I don't know what that means for me. Would I really forgive Arnold that easily if he ever left Lila for me? Did he actually care about me, like more than a friend? Am I really letting Lila get to me like this? Like she won and I'm the sore loser in the fight for Arnold's love? I didn't know what to do or think. The worst came to me and I think I know what I have to do so I can untangle myself from this mess.

I have to tell Arnold to back off for his own good. Especially mine.

It's already lunch time at school. I tell Phoebe about my dream as we get out lunch, and she's as shocked as I am. "My gosh, Helga! This whole Lila+Arnold thing is getting to you that it's invading your dreams. What are you going to do?", she asks me.

"The one thing I can do, Phoebe. And it won't be pretty. It hurts me so much that he's with her. But I need to do the right thing for myself, which is tell Arnold to leave me alone. Focus on that princess of his. He has no right to ask me to be with him when Lila's not around. It's pretty demeaning to me. It would kill me to tell him to stop talking to me, but maybe it will do me good and get me out of this hell hole", I tell her sadly.

We finish picking out lunch and walk to our table that Gerald saved for us. Also sitting there was Arnold and Lila. Arnold gives me a wide smile as we sit at the table. Phoebe looks at Gerald, giving her an awkward smile. I stare into my food and begin to eat quietly avoiding eye contact with anybody.

"I'm ever so grateful you let us join you for lunch today, Gerald. So generous of you to invite us to sit with you", Lila says to Gerald. She was still scared to look Phoebe in the eye, but clearly didn't want to make this an awkward situation more than it already is. The put a grin on Phoebe's face. She didn't look so innocent to Lila anymore and that made Phoebe feel a bit powerful over her.

Arnold then asks me, "So how was everything last night, Helga? Did it go okay?" I look up at him slowly and see him smiling at me. I also notice Lila looking at him disapprovingly. I respond, "Uh, it was alright Arnold, not much to talk about."

"I'm sure there's more to the story, Helga", he giggles at me. I notice Lila again, she rolls her eyes at him just by laughing with me. I'm I the only one noticing that little bitch's attitude towards Arnold? How I felt like jumping over this table and wrapping my hands around her pretty little neck. I couldn't take it anymore. I finish my lunch quickly so I can get out of here quickly.

"There is Arnold, but it's not important... Can I actually talk to you in private? It is kind of important...", I ask him. He looks confused, but follows me as soon as I get up from the table. I take my tray back with me and put it back with the other trays and threw my trash away. I take Arnold outside the cafeteria so I can speak to him away from our peers.

"What's going on, Helga?", Arnold asks.

I didn't know how to tell him, but I would say what my heart was telling me. "Arnold, I have to be honest with you about something... And I don't like it very much, but I just have to tell you that... I don't think you should continue to speak with me anymore."

Arnold quickly asks, "But why? What made you think this? Did Lila tell you something?"

"Uh, sorta... But don't blame her. I notice that she doesn't like it very much now that you still talk to me", I say. I lied though since I hope Lila doesn't tell him about what happened yesterday.

"Helga, you're my friend! Lila shouldn't be interfering with that otherwise-"

"Arnold! We just can't talk to each other. At least for now. The attention that you give me should be going towards her, she's your girlfriend. And to also make it clear... I just plain don't like her. Not because I'm jealous of her", I state, even though that's true. He continues to look confused. "I also need to respect the fact that you're with her and she has made it very clear to me, too." I remember back to my dream. She made it so very clear.

"But Helga, it shouldn't matter. She also needs to respect you're my friend. I wouldn't like it if I had to stop talking to you because of her", he responds with a puppy dog face.

Oh god, it pains me to look at him like this, telling him to stay away from me. I have no other choice. "Either way, Arnold, it'll be best for the two of you. You have her and she's in that phase to have you all to herself. I'd be the same, too, if you were my..." He looks at me with wide eyes. Avoiding what I was about to tell him, I say, "Arnold, just think of her. Any other girl wouldn't like the idea of her boyfriend talking to another girl he's gotten so close with more than her. Okay? Just understand, for now. I still have a lot to worry about, and one of those things does not involve me avoiding getting in a fight with Lila over you."

He looks away from me not liking this idea. I don't like it more than he does. I sigh and finally say, "You should get back to your girl, Arnold. I need to catch up with some work I forgot to do last night... I'll see you around." By surprise, he grabs me by my shoulders and gives me a tight hug. I stand frozen until I wrap my arms around him, too. Pulls himself away so he looks me straight in the eyes. Oh those beautiful, green eyes of his. Lila then storms out and sees us hugging. We pull away from each other and look at Lila.

"Is everything okay, Arnold? You've been gone for quite a while now", she says, slowly looking at me.

Arnold stutters at her. I couldn't stand here any longer so I tell him, "Again... I'll see you around."

I walk away leaving them to themselves. Why does Arnold do this to me? He didn't have to give me a hug or something, even though his hug felt comforting. So warm. So loving. I'm doing what's best for the both of us. Even if there may be a chance for us, I can't continue to sit around waiting for that day to happen. I hope he'll be okay putting up with that witch. I'm lucky I'm not him.

* * *

The school day is over and Olga came to pick me up. She came dressed formally and I dressed in whatever I brought to change into for the play. We drove to the downtown theater. There were so many people there waiting to go inside and find a seat. "What's the big deal with this show, Olga? Does someone die in this show?", I ask her.

She giggles at me which I found odd. "Oh Helga, more than one person dies in this show. It's called Sweeney Todd. I thought you might like it and might take your mind off of what's been stressing you lately."

A dark play, huh? How thoughtful of her. But would I really like it? "There's a lot of singing in the show, too, so I hope you don't mind that at least", she tells me. Singing? I hope it doesn't put me to sleep. We finally find a parking spot and start heading towards the theater. We present our tickets, find our seats, and wait for the lights to dim down. I trust Olga if I will really like this show. If not, I will make her pay for it by making her take me to Wrestlemania.

I settle in my seat. The lights begin to dimmer and the curtains are pulled to show the audience a pile of "dead" bodies that slowly get up rising from the dead singing to us who this Sweeney Todd character is. As they present Sweeney Todd, his character was just jaw dropping to me. The costume was so eye-catching, his hair styled so handsomely yet evil slicked back, and that expression on his face that read vengeance was breath taking. I was already pulled into the show. Olga notices and smiles to herself rubbing my shoulder. A story about death and vengeance sounds magnificent to me, strangely. Should I speak to Dr. Bliss about this? She said she's willing to hear me with any problems I ever had after I finished elementary school. Nah, this shouldn't concern me. I love a good revenge story.

When the show finished, Olga and I gush about the show. She loved the music and I couldn't get over the characters and the deaths of each one. Of course Olga is not into gory stuff, but she did this just for me which I appreciated very much. She drives me back home since she still had her stuff to pack up and say bye to our parents. We make it home safely. Before I opened the door to the house, Olga stops me. "Baby sister, I really hope you had a good time. Whatever it is you're going through, don't let it affect you. If you ever need to talk about it, you can tell me. But I know you are a strong girl and will get through this."

I was speechless. I feel my tears streaming down and give Olga a tight hug. She giggles and hugs me right back. "Now, go get ready for bed, Helga, I kept you out for too long on a school night. I'll tell mummy and daddy I'm on my way now. And don't worry, I'll be back again in a month. I have so much work to catch up with", she reassures me with a laugh.

"Thank you, Olga. For everything", I tell her. I open the door to the house. Bob and Miriam are in the kitchen, but I didn't want to pay them much attention. I hear Olga tell them about our night and tells them her goodbyes. I walk up to my room getting ready for bed. I turn my phone back on and see I got a text message from some number I never saw before. I open the message and it reads: "Hi Helga, this is Lila. I appreciate you talking to Arnold earlier telling him he should be spending his time with me. I'm ever so grateful you did that. I care about my Arnold so much. See you around, Helga."

Reading this made me really angry. I yelled and threw my phone against my desk dropping a box over." Why won't she just leave me alone? She has him and I let him go! I let the love of my life go! She's so vile. Just like the play tonight, I imagine her as the evil Judge Turpin. And I am Sweeney Todd. I don't know when, and if I choose to, I will one day have my revenge on her. She's trying to ruin my life for her own greed. And I won't let her walk all over me any longer.

I sigh to myself rubbing my head. "Don't stoop to her level, Helga. You're better than that. One day her day will come", I tell myself. I walk over to pick my phone up and put the fallen stuff back into the box. I pick everything up and see that my locket was in that pile as well. My heart was beating so fast looking at it. I put an updated photo of Arnold in there not so long ago. The trouble this thing has given me over the years. Looking at his handsome face made me feel horrible that everything we had has lead to this. That look on his face when he held me earlier said, "Please don't go." If we are meant to be, it will happen one day. Not anytime soon, but one day. For now, we must go our separate ways.

I hold the locket against me, hugging it gently. I look back at it and I sing a lyric from the play, " _Till I'm with you then, I'm with you there... Sweetly buried in your yellow hair..._ " I look at it one more time and finally put it away in the box. I lay in bed staring at my ceiling until sleep hit me.

I pray I have a better dream tonight. One predicting something good that will happen soon. I close my eyes, but faintly hear Olga come in my room one last time. I feel her give me a kiss and whisper, "You mean so much to me, baby sister. Don't ever let what seems the worst now bring you down."

I hear her leave and I smile at her words. I tell myself before finally falling asleep, "Don't worry. I won't..."


	4. They Haven't Seen The Best of Me Yet

**This chapter literally took me all day to write! I did the best I could, it was a real struggle and want to time each chapter perfectly. I don't think the story will be long, but I'm going to continue if more and more ideas pop into my head. Again, thank you for the reviews, I love your kind words and thoughts on the story! I even love how almost all of you call Lila a bitch, lol. Please keep reviewing and telling me what you think! As a token of my gratitude to my fellow readers, I'd love if you can recommend me a story of yours I can read and review. I haven't read anything lately and want to read what you guys have to offer on the site. :) Please review and recommend me a story if you'd like! Enjoy! 3**

* * *

It has been weeks since I have last spoken to Arnold. The fall weather is already kicking in. I honestly haven't felt this good in such a long time. The sad part is I still miss that Football Head. I still have the same classes with him, but avoid eye contact. And when it came to class discussions, I have to be civil and acknowledge his existence. At lunch time I would go to the library, bringing my own lunch and sneaking it in. I put a lot of focus into my school work now and write poetry in this new notebook I bought recently. I even considered applying myself to a poetry scholarship Phoebe told me about a couple of days ago. It wouldn't hurt to try, although my poetry has gotten so glum ever since I told Arnold we shouldn't speak anymore. My heart still aches for him.

My dreams also stopped bringing in the misery I have been feeling and replacing them with emptiness. I just stand there and I'm not sure what I'm looking for. All my obstacles are clear but I don't know where to go. Where to turn. It is all very confusing. I try not to think about it so much.

I dig into my lunch bag to drink some soda, but notice my bottle is empty. I groan because I'm thirsty as hell and need the sugar, but also because the only place I can buy it at is the school cafeteria. I take a deep breath and put my things away. I look at the clock and see I only have twenty minutes left before class starts. Leaving the library, I slowly walk to the end of the hall leading to the cafeteria. I feel as if I left my sanctuary behind as I enter a danger zone. I step into the cafeteria opening the doors wide. Nobody noticed but Phoebe who looks so surprised to see me walk in here after a month. Lila also looks at me, but I pay her no attention.

As I walk to the soda machine, Rhonda taps me on the shoulder and says, "Helga! It's such a surprise to see you come back in here. Everything okay?"

She has gotten almost everyone's attention and were staring at us. "What's it to ya, Lloyd? I'm just here to buy a drink", I snap at her. She takes her hand off my shoulder responding, "Well I already handed out party invites to my Halloween Costume party in a few weeks and I didn't get a chance to give you yours. You stormed out of class so quick." She hands out my invitation in front of me. I hesitate, but grab it out of her hands.

"Uh, thanks Rhonda", I tell her awkwardly.

"No need to thank me, Helga. You've been working your ass off lately and helped our group get an A+ on our project. I must say... You're a real delight, Helga. You better be there at my party this time", she tells me with a sassy, friendly tone. Has Rhonda been observing my every move? She is the queen bee of the school, but I never took her as the observant kind. That's why she has Nadine to dish out on gossip. I guess I'm not a target anymore for gossip ever since I closed myself off from Arnold and learn more about myself. Like, I didn't know I could actually get along with someone like Rhonda for a group project even though she's a pain in the ass. Brainy was also in our group, and I learned to tolerate him for once. I didn't even smack him in the face either! I mean he still has a crush on me I think since he blushed all the time we got together for our group and gave me some space. He still doesn't talk as much and he isn't so bad looking now. He actually went through with dyeing his hair blood orange, now wears a cool pair of glasses, updated his wardrobe to a British rock style of attire, but was still the nerdy kind of guy who really isn't as bad as I thought he was. Huh...

"Okay, I will, Rhonda", I smile at her. I walk away from her and head towards the soda machine.

"Oh, just one more thing, Helga. You're invited to my slumber party tonight! And I won't take 'no' for an answer", she tells me before finally heading back to her table. I laugh at the thought of me going to her slumber party. It reminds me of the time when I was 9 years old pretending to be one of her kind. It shouldn't be so bad now I guess that we're older. What the hell, I'll go.

All eyes finally were off of me except for one pair of eyes: Brainy. I look at him and he smiles at me. I keep looking until I slam into the soda machine without me realizing. I rub my cheek and give an awkward laugh at Brainy. He gives me a sorry look for letting me do that to myself. I look away from him feeling embarrassed and process to buy my soda. I grab my soda thinking if I should head back to the library and hide away from everyone as usual. Sighing, I walk towards Brainy's table and sit with him. He looks up from his tray, surprised to see me sit there with him. What the hell was I doing?

"How's it going, Brainy?", I start trying to making conversation. I know he won't say much but somehow, it didn't feel weird to be sitting with him. It's about time I make a new friend and try not to beat him up because he used to be creepy. He chats with me little, but it felt nice. I sat with him until the bell rang for class. We walk to our science class and we happen to be the last ones to walk in. The teacher was late, so we hurried to find a table together. Arnold and Lila are in the same room as us, but for some reason it didn't bother me. They sat across the room from me which I had no problem with. The thing that did bother me was I swear Arnold kept looking in my direction. It's strange when you move on from someone, they still try to find a way to be attached to you like a leech. "I just can't let you continue to suck the life out of me, Arnold. I love you, but I can't", I tell myself inside my head.

* * *

The school day is over with and here comes the weekend. I walk home with Phoebe to get our stuff ready for Rhonda's party. I leave some of my stuff with Phoebe at her place whenever I decide to crash with her, and what a perfect day to go and pick it up. The only thing I had to do was let Miriam know I wasn't coming back tonight and hanging out with some friends.

"Yeah mom, I'm going to Rhonda Lloyd's house tonight. She invited me last minute", I tell Miriam over the phone. I hear her with her tired usual self but told me to stay safe and have fun. I hang up and help Phoebe with picking out a pajama to wear. It was stupid picking out sleepwear for Rhonda's party. I went along anyway to amuse Phoebe. I owe her one.

We finish packing and leave the house walking over to Rhonda's place. Phoebe has a questionable look on her face as we continue walking. "Um, Helga, you sure you'll be okay tonight? I think Lila's going to be there and I'm just asking to be on the safe side."

"I'll be fine, Phoebe, don't worry. I've actually haven't let that Raggedy Ann wannabe get to me since I last spoke to Arnold. I'm not giving her any attention and that's just the way I like it", I respond. Lila really hasn't bothered me since then. I ignore her completely. She's not worth anything. Well, she is worth me giving her a taste of her own medicine one day. But that day will have to wait.

"Okay, Helga... Can I be honest with you about something?", she stops and asks me when we're already half way to Rhonda's house. "Helga... It's so annoying having to sit with Lila at lunch every single day because Gerald wants Arnold with him which I don't have a problem with, but she thinks we can suddenly be friends ever since you've stopped coming into the cafeteria. I miss seeing you in there and I hate that Lila thinks she's so high and mighty over you-"

"Phoebe, I want her to stay out of my way. I'm sorry I haven't been there with you through lunch time. That bitch shouldn't feel entitled to take you over as her new BFF. She has another thing coming if she thinks she can take you away from me. I know you're better than that, and... I'll do my best to come to have lunch with you. Even if it means having to put up with her and Arnold", I cut her off stating. It's surprising to hear her finally tell this to me. Have I been too selfish to even think of Phoebe? I suppose I should start cutting back some time at the library to be with her.

Phoebe with teary eyes says, "That's very kind of you, Helga. I don't think you should go _too_ drastic with your routine. Arnold has been bugging me, too."

With a surprised look on my face, I laugh and ask, "Why? What's that Football Head doing to you?"

Phoebe did not look good when I ask that. She steps away from me, slowly, and blasts, "... He won't stop asking me about you on most days. He even tries to make it not look obvious in front of Lila, too. He's like 'Phoebe, how's Helga doing?' or 'I know Helga might not be interested, but I hope she's doing alright' and blah blah blah! If he cares sooo much about you that he has to ask me day after day, week after week, then he should just dump Lila already and go after you instead! Or get his head checked since he clearly doesn't know what his heart wants!" She pants looking embarrassed at me and I stand there with my mouth gaping open.

"Geez Phoebe, I didn't think he would get to you like this", I finally say. Poor Phoebe, having to deal with all this crap.

"I'm sorry, Helga", she apologizes to me. I hug her by the shoulder and reassure her it's all good. Phoebe's not some messenger for Arnold. And I agree, he should really get his head checked. Letting her take a moment to breathe, it seems she still had something else she either wanted to tell or ask me.

"What else do you need to hear, Phoebe?", I ask.

With a smile, looking away from me for a short second, she asks, "What was going on between you and Brainy back there? I've never seen anything like that come from you."

Her question shocked me. Did she really see me talk and hang out with Brainy? It's not like I feel anything for the guy, just guilty for the things I did to him. I mean, he isn't a bad guy. I just tell her, "Really, nothing's going on. I decided to chill with him for a bit before we had to get back to class. The annoying thing that happened was when we went back to class, I caught Arnold taking quick glances at me. What is he, jealous?" I laugh at the question because who could be jealous of another person over me? Phoebe laughs, too, but we decide not to talk about it anymore.

We start walking again already making it in front of Rhonda's house. I look at Phoebe to make sure she's fine after exploding all her feelings on me. I now knock on the door when Rhonda opens the door for us.

"Hey ladies! Do come in and make yourselves at home. Everyone else is already here so let's get this party started!", Rhonda says full of excitement. Phoebe and I slip our shoes off with the other shoes and head towards the living room. In the living room is Nadine, Sheena, Patty, and of course, Lila. They all greet us in and ask us to join.

"Hey Helga! So nice to finally see you here. Been so long since I've actually seen you in a room with us", Patty tells me with a sly smile.

"I've been pretty busy, gals. Sorry for the sudden disappearance at school", I joke with them. "So what does our host have planned for tonight?"

"So kind of you to ask, Helga. I thought since it's been such a long time you came to one of my slumber parties, why not make tonight extra special. You might not like it, but I think you should join us in our activities that you dislike so much. I mean just for tonight of course, "Rhonda teases at me. As annoying as that plan is, I decide to go along with it. It wouldn't hurt, I guess.

I surrender myself with arms up and say, "Okay, do what you will with me!" The girls laugh and cheer that I let myself join in their slumber party games. I toughed it out through Sheena painting my nails, Nadine fixing my hair into cute tiny pigtails, and the worst for last, Rhonda rubbing a home made facial cream all over my face. It smells good but I knew I couldn't eat it; some chemical was in there, too, within the avocado and lemon and whatever else was in there.

"How long do I need to keep this on?", I ask beginning to feel an itch against my cheek.

"In about another 10 minutes. In the meantime, why don't we play a little game of truth or dare?", Rhonda asks us. It is a stupid game, but the thought of daring someone do something was tempting. "I'm in", I answer. The other girls join in and agree to play. We gather in a circle deciding who should start first.

"I'll go!", shouts Nadine. Nadine scans each one of us who she should truth or dare. "Hmmm... Patty! Truth or dare?"

Patty thinks for a second and says, "Truth."

"Okay... I just recently noticed you and Harold getting a lot closer lately. Is something going on between you two?", Nadine asks with a wide smile.

Patty avoids showing any emotion but proceeds to tell the truth. "We've gotten a lot closer, yeah... I mean he's already asked me out to be his date to your Halloween party, Rhonda, so..." She smiles and looks away from us, already we cheer her on. I'm happy for her, it's good to see her this way.

"Okay, that's enough. It's my turn now and I pick Rhonda", states Patty. "Truth or dare." I knew Rhonda wouldn't pick truth, she has so much hidden that she wouldn't speak of any of it to anyone. She went for the dare.

"Alright, Rhonda... I dare you to give Helga a lap dance for exactly 1 minute", she says with a smirk on her face.

"What? I would never do such a disgusting thing like that in my life!", Rhonda shouts. I was just as disgusted as her. What the hell, Patty? I thought we were friends!

"But you have to do it, Rhonda, those are the rules of the game", Phoebe says, but it only annoyed Rhonda and me even more.

"Fine!", Rhonda groans. It didn't help she was wearing a skimpy looking night shirt and short pajama shorts with red lips for a pattern. I was sitting her in my plaid pajama pants and long sleeved sleeping shirt. She's going to rub her on my favorite pajamas I scream to myself! But it is too late, Rhonda began the dare. She looks so uncomfortable, but wow, she can freaking move. Is one of her secrets being a professional stripper? All the girls laugh and shout their "woos" at Rhonda.

"There, minute has passed! You happy now?", Rhonda snaps at Patty. Patty just laughs and waves her hand at Rhonda to continue the game. She looks around, and decides to pick me. "Helga, truth or dare?"

There is no way I will do something as degrading that Rhonda just performed, so I pick, "Truth."

It looks like Rhonda already has a question in mind she wants to ask me. Oh god, what does she plan to do?

"Helga... Do you still have a thing for Arnold?", she asks. What the hell, Rhonda! His stupid girlfriend is here and you want me to answer that! She's already looking at me and it looks like she doesn't want me to answer that, either. There's no way for me to get out of this, so I do my best to tell the truth.

"Geez Rhonda, couldn't you have picked a better question? Anyway, to answer that... No, actually. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm crammed into my books by choice and have been getting better grades ever since. I even let myself do all this silly stuff with you guys because I care about gaining a good friendship with you! I don't have time to be thinking about some guy", I answer even if the last part is a lie since Brainy has gotten in my mind for some sick reason. Hopefully nobody catches that. They stare at me and give me approving smiles. Lila on the other hand...

"That's ever so sweet to hear, Helga. It would have been weird if you did still have some feelings towards Arnold since I'm his girlfriend. But I hope we can be the best of friends knowing this", Lila tells me while facing me and holding my hands. What is Rhonda's deal asking me that stupid question? Is she purposely trying to start something because of what Patty has done, proving never to mess with her. Well, two can play at that game! Nobody messes with Helga G. Pataki.

"Yeah, Lila, I _do_ hope we become the best of friends", I respond with such a fake, friendly tone. As soon as Lila started crawling back to her seat, I say, "Lila. Truth or dare?"

She looks at me with wide eyes and the rest of the girls stare at her. Just like Rhonda, I know she'd have something to hide and doesn't want the rest of us to know. So she says, "I'm ever so certain to pick dare, Helga." She gives me a disapproving look. However I think of the perfect dare that was better than lap dancing.

"Alright Lila, but I must warn you, this is a two-part dare, so no turning back", I say.

"Wait, we can do two-part dares?", Patty shouts. Did she have more she wanted to do to Rhonda. Either way, I shushed her so we can get back to the game.

"Well, it wouldn't be fair if I backed out of it. I accept your dare", she says with a smug look.

I look over at the bowl Rhonda mixed her facial cream in, There was still a whole lot in there counting not everyone here used it but me, Phoebe, and Nadine. "Lila. For the first part of the dare, I dare you to dunk your entire head into Rhonda's facial cream", I state while pointing at the bowl. Her face didn't look so smug now that I was making her dip her head and avocado and messing up her long, red locks. The girls wait for her to do it. She looks at them with a scared expression. She then gets up and walks towards the bowl. She hesitates to dip her head into the bowl. She looks at me one more time with eyes filled with anger. She finally dips her head in quickly making she she doesn't miss a spot. The girls all gasp and I take in this moment I've created. Is it a bit childish of me? Who cares! Here's the first step to payback.

Lila screams as she pulls her head out leaving very little of the facial cream in the bowl. "Okay, Helga! What's the second part?", she asks telling me she wants to get this over with. This is already beautiful to watch. Me and a group of my peers watching my enemy covered in face cream. The second part is for her to take a picture of herself like that and post it as her profile picture for her school email account. Should I carry on with the second part? I think there's only room for once cruel bitch, and that is Lila. I change my mind and decide I can screw with her in a different situation.

"Eh, forget about it, Lila. I won't let you go through the rest of the dare. This is good enough", I tell her. The girls are confused just as Lila is. Yeah, I made her go through with this crap, so what? That's the last thing I'm doing tonight. I look back at the clock and remember, "Oh, it's also my time to go take this cream off my face! I'll let you guys continue without me." I get up and smirk at Lila. Oh that look in her eyes just make me laugh. I'm sure she would have done something to me in return if I sat there longer.

I walk into the bathroom to use the sink. The sink is so expensive looking that I was about to dirty it washing this crud off my face. I wash it out thoroughly making sure it is all off my face. I finish up, grab one of the towels hanging on the rack, and wipe my face clean. My skin looks nicer and feels smoother. I guess this stuff actually works, I chuckle to myself. I walk out of the bathroom, into the living room to join everyone again.

* * *

The rest of the night was tiring. The girls still continued playing truth or dare until everyone did one of each. We then settled on the couch watching a scary movie while Lila went to go shower off. She'll thank me for this, that cream works like magic. After the movie finished and Lila came back, we set up blankets and cushions on the floor getting ready to sleep.

"Alright girls, get your beauty rest. Tomorrow we're going shopping for our Halloween costumes and I want all of us to look hot when my party happens", Rhonda tells us while yawning. We settle in our blankets still chatting until we grew too tired and fell asleep. Tonight was fun, I thought. It was better than the slumber party when we were 9. I had a lot of fun with these girls and messing with Lila.

I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to the next slumber party I get invited to. If I'm lucky.


	5. Are You Nasty?

**It took me a while to get this chapter started! I decided to leave this chapter with a sorta cliffhanger, but I'll start writing up the next chapter as soon as I can. I feel really tired right now, so please ignore anything that sounds ridiculous, lol. Again, thank you so much for the reviews, I appreciate you guys for that and sticking with the story. :)**

* * *

The girls and I walk through the mall deciding where to pick out our clothing to make our own Halloween costumes. It was such a pain having to come down over here with them. Rhonda woke us up early to eat a huge breakfast her parents' personal chef cooked up. The food was really good and filling. So filling that the rest of us didn't feel like going out anywhere. Of course the thought of us not going out anywhere did not sit well with Rhonda. She ordered us to get ready and to meet her in her car outside her house.

Rhonda's car was cool, I guess. It was imported from Italy for her 16th birthday, especially made for her from her parents. The girls and I tried to fit in so we wouldn't scratch Her Royal Highness' leather seats. Nadine sat in the front with her while the rest of us sat in the back. Lila was unfortunately sitting next to me. We didn't look each other in the eye and stayed quiet until we made it to the mall.

The mall isn't so packed this morning which felt perfect for me. The less people there are, the better it is. Rhonda starts making conversation on Halloween costume ideas. "I've had so many ideas of what I can be this Halloween. I want to look hot and have everyone's eyes on me", she declares.

"Don't go too outrageous, Rhonda! Some of us will have dates there", Lila replies jokingly. Jokingly or not, wait to go to point out I don't have anyone, you skank!

"Of course not, ladies! I have standards", Rhonda chuckles. "So I've been thinking I should either be Katy Perry from her "Dark Horse" music video or be a hot, looking Flapper Girl."

I ignored her ideas since they sound pretty lame to me. She might go for something else the last minute the day of her party arrives, so it doesn't matter.

"Anyway, what are the rest of you gals going to dress up as?", she asks.

Nadine responds, "I'm going to be a fierce Monarch butterfly queen! I already have the wings, I just need to find the right outfit to go with it." She smiles at Rhonda knowing Rhonda can help her with this task.

"Arnold and I have been deciding what we should dress as for the party. He wanted to pick out a costume for himself, but I decided we should dress as Romeo and Juliet together! It'd be ever so sweet, after 7 years we had our elementary school play he gets to be Romeo again and I'll be his Juliet this time", Lila says, clearly trying to take a jab at me with her words.

"Well Lila, every guy will always have their _first_ Juliet. But the second one is always good, too, I suppose", I tell her sarcastically. It is the truth! I was Arnold's first Juliet, and it was the greatest experience I had with him. I look over at Lila, seeing her face is flushed. Yeah, you'll never take me down, Sawyer. It's so great to know I can take her down a notch in cases like this.

"Oh yeah, I forgot all about that! No offense to you, Lila, but Arnold and Helga did steal the show, especially with that kiss. I couldn't have done that better myself", Rhonda replies. She complimented my acting? My kiss with Arnold? In front of _Lila_? Oh, this day is getting better! I can see Lila's face getting a little red. Someone's panties are getting all bunched up her crack.

"Anyway, Helga, what are you going as?", Rhonda asks. I haven't really put a lot of thought into it and I don't have the money for it, but I've been planning some designs to create my own fem-style Sweeney Todd costume. I still can't get over the play Olga took me to and that actor was heavenly to look at despite him being a viscous killer. I would wear a white, cotton long sleeved button shirt that fits my torso perfectly, a sequined black vest to put over, and a pair of those leather pants I've been wanting for the longest time that would make my ass pop out. I already had the boots that would go with the costume.

"I haven't thought about it yet, I did have an idea, but I might not go through with it. I'm still deciding, yet I don't mind going through the shops with you", I tell her. I actually feel bad I can't afford to pick out the pieces for my costume. Something will come up, I'm sure. I'll probably dress up as a zombie to piss Rhonda off.

"I'm sure it'll come to you, Helga. In the meantime, do you want to help me out pick my costume? Gerald and I don't want to do the whole couples thing like _some_ people. We just want to have fun and feel comfortable wearing whatever we want", Phoebe says to me. Phoebe is the greatest person for not making Gerald do some stupid couples costume idea. Besides, if I can't help myself getting my costume together, the least I can do is help my best friend out.

"Not a problem, Phoebs. In my opinion, I see you going as a Japanese warrior princess. You have the hair and figure to pull it off beautifully", I tell her. She blushes at the idea and decides to go with it. As we shop, Rhonda helps pick out outfits with Nadine. Patty didn't look around much, I think she already had her costume thought. Sheena browses around since she doesn't have a clue to what she wants to dress up as. As for Lila... Well, she is looking through the skimpier kinds of outfits. What does she think she's trying to do? Outshine 9 year old me by trying to look hot in front of Arnold. The thought of Lila trying to dress sexy made me ill. I take my mind off that train of thought and continue to help Phoebe.

After we finished shopping, the girls and I went to go eat lunch together. The food was cheap and enough for me to afford. Rhonda was grossed out about all the items on the menu, so she ordered a tall glass of water with a lemon wedge. We talked about getting our assignments together for school, gossip about TV shows I have actually never watched, and plans Rhonda came up with for the party.

"I hired the greatest DJ there is this city has to offer, it's going to be amazing! I called in a caterer to bring in the finest foods and pastries just enough for all of us. Also, my favorite, karaoke! And the costume contest is saved for the end. The winner gets homemade Swiss chocolate. It may sound like a plain old prize, but it is worth it. I couldn't stop eating that chocolate, I gained like four pounds after eating so much of it!", Rhonda blabs.

Her ideas sounds alright. There really is no way to get out of going since she wants me to go. I'll suck it up, I tell myself. I still need to pick out a damn costume.

After we finished eating, it was time for me to go home. The girls were still going to hang out which I had no issue with. I like them, but being with them for a whole day is so unbearable. I take the bus going my direction home and hope there's no mess I walk into when I get there. Things have been pretty chill at home, but I couldn't let my guard down easily. I make it home before 5 o'clock and notice Bob and Miriam are not home. "Hello?", I call out. I walk into the kitchen and no one's there. I spot a note on the table written just for me: Helga, we'll be back in an hour. We're picking up Olga from the airport, she'll be staying over here with us for her vacation from work. There's food saved for you in the oven and we'll see you when we get home. Love, mom and dad.

Did I just read that right? _Love_ mom and dad? That can't be right, can it? I'm glad Olga is coming back, but wow. They even saved me some food! Has me not talking to Arnold changed my way of living? No, it couldn't be. I guess they're finally paying attention to what I've been accomplishing in school recently and Olga covering for me. Huh... I guess things will finally be okay for now?

Moments after I finish eating my dinner, I hear the door open. "Baby sister, I'm back!", Olga cries out. I head into the living room and see my family back. Olga comes towards me and gives me the tightest hug she has ever given me. "Did you miss me, Helga?", she asks me. Bob helps take Olga's things into her room while Miriam heads to the kitchen to make something for Olga to eat.

I wasn't going to lie to her. "Yeah, Olga. Like you have no idea."

* * *

Rhonda's party is finally today and I still haven't picked my costume yet! I groan into my desk thinking what am I going to do? I've been caught up with submitting my poem to earn that scholarship while doing all my school work. I've finally made an effort to hanging out with Phoebe without anybody else around us. She has her costume all ready; Gerald will be dressing up as Van Helsing. I already imagine those two walking in looking so out of place together but it would be cute. I kind of wish I had someone to go with.

I look a couple of seats away from Eugene and see Brainy doodling in his notebook. The film we're watching right now is pretty boring, so I don't blame him. Should I ask him to go to the party with me? Mrs. Pierce turns off the projector as the end credits roll. "I know guys, not the best film to sit through. The film I wanted to show you wasn't approved by the principal so I had to pick something out from the library... Anyway, you're all free to go and have a spook-tacular Halloween! And remember, quiz on Monday!"

Everyone packs their things getting ready to leave to their next classes. I get up quickly from my seat and walk up to Brainy. As I walk up to him, he looks at me and smiles. "Uh, hi Helga."

"Hey Brainy. Uh... are you by any chance going to Rhonda's party tonight, are you?", I ask him, nervously. He nods at me yes. "Cool, cool... Would you, I don't know... Like to go together? As friends, of course!"

He smiles and without hesitation says, "Sure."

"Great! Um, pick me up at my place?", I ask him. He gives me another nod yes. Am I doing the right thing by asking him to go with me? It won't be so bad, I'm sure. Besides me not having a costume yet I can at least still have fun with someone. We walk out of the classroom together heading to our next class. Mrs. Pierce gives us a smile and a wave 'bye'.

As the school day finishes, I stay behind with Phoebe for a bit asking her what I should do. "I'm out on a limb, Phoebs, I don't have anything for tonight. I'm gonna have to improvise with my clothes. I don't know what to do!"

"Wow Helga, I've never seen you act this way for a party", Phoebe says matter of factly.

I decide to tell her, "Well... I asked Brainy to go with me to the party. As friends. So it's kind of a big deal that I don't know what I'm dressing up as."

She looks at me with wide eyes, smiling. "That's great, Helga! This should be fun for you."

"Yeah, yeah, but still!", I groan. No time to stress, I'll have to figure something out at home. "I'll just see you at the party, Phoebs. Your costume better outshine Rhonda's", I tell her making her laugh. We split our ways going home and I continue to brainstorm in my head. Surely there must be something in my closet I can use. Maybe I'll go dressed as Lila again from when we were kids. I laugh to myself even though that's a terrible and immature idea. Oh well.

I make it home going upstairs to my room. As I walk upstairs, I hear music coming from Olga's room. Maybe she can help me out for tonight. I shrug and walk to her room. I knock on the door hoping she'll answer me. Within seconds, Olga opens the door giving me a big smile. "Hello, baby sister! Do you need help with something?"

"Y-yeah, I kind of do", I tell her. She lets me in her room. I notice she's been working on some decorations to put out for later. Very creative and awesome. God, how I hate her artistic abilities.

She sits back on her chair and asks, "So what do you need help with?"

"Well, tonight my friend is throwing a Halloween party and she wants me to come. The problem is I haven't decided on a costume to wear and I'm fresh out of ideas and can't afford anything. Is it too much trouble if you can help me come up with something in the next 3 hours?", I ask, not looking at her.

She thinks to herself figuring out what she can do to help. She gets up and walks to her closet. Did she already have something in mind just for this occasion? She comes back and holds a blue dress in her arms. She hands it over to me to look at.

"I was going to dress up tonight for the trick-or-treaters, but just for you, I want you to wear it. It's that cute little character all the kids love! What's her name... Elena? Esther?"

"Elsa? Really, Olga?" I examine the costume and it resembles the dress of that annoying character from that annoying movie. The dress didn't look bad, though. The material felt comfortable and not itchy like regular Halloween costumes. Did she get this custom made?

"Yes, that's the one! I thought it'd be popular for the little ones. Oh, do wear it for tonight. You need this more than I do. And we can adjust the dress so you don't trip on yourself", she tells me. She really wants me to wear this when she made this for herself? I have no other choice. The dress does look beautiful and Rhonda wants us girls to look hot for the party. I can manage with this.

"Thanks Olga! Although I can't magically grow my hair long again to make it a braid", I joke with her.

She laughs and says, "Oh Helga! You can look just fine without it. You can style your adorable short hair to at least resemble the top half."

I look in the mirror and agree with her. My hair looks awesome to style it in such a way. I know that this is going to take a while since it's with Olga and she's going to want to do more than just alter the dress. I surrender myself to her like I did with the girls back at the slumber party, and she cheers already getting her sewing and make up kit out just for me.

Almost 3 hours in and Olga is adding the final touches on my face. It feels weird having make up caked on my face. She puts the eye shadow brush down. "Tada!", she shouts. I look at the mirror and was surprised. Is that really me? The shades of colors and glitter on my eyelids look so glamorous. The eye liner made my eyes pop out more than the rest of my face. What I loved most was the shade of the lipstick since it wasn't blue; it was pink. I get up and walk towards the full sized mirror and I look fucking amazing. My hair... God, the many styles I can do with this hair and Olga made it look so bad ass! Blue wasn't much my favorite color on me, but this dress really makes my skin glow. The dress even matched with my eyes. "Now one last touch", Olga says. She picks out an ice blue colored flower hair clip to put in my hair. She plucks it in my hair. The flower just made me look elegant. This isn't my prom, but I let her have fun with it. "What do you think, baby sister?"

"I... I love it! I really do... Thank you Olga", I say giving her a hug. She giggles and hugs me back. I then notice my mom walk into the room.

"Aw, are you girls having fun?", she asks with a smile on her face. We both nod, although I feel embarrassed Miriam caught us. "Aww, group hug!", she shouts joining in our hugging.

"O-okay guys, let's stop now! I'm expecting someone downstairs to walk to the party to", I say struggling out from them. I finally break free from them hoping nothing on me got ruined. I look back at them one more time and say, "Thanks again, Olga... Love you, mom... I'll see you guys later." They smile as I walk out of the room going downstairs. I hear the doorbell ring and go straight for it before Bob tries to stop me, too. I open the door and see Brainy dressed as one of the Beatles. I didn't follow their music much so I felt bad. He stares at me with big eyes, obviously stunned by my costume. "Don't say a word", I tell him jokingly. He chuckles to himself. We proceed to walk to Rhonda's house. During that process, little kids were staring at me and crying out because of my costume. It was cute but rather annoying.

We make it to Rhonda's house and there were a lot of our schoolmates hanging out outside. We walk in to see all our friends inside. Like I predicted, Phoebe and Gerald look so out of place together that it was so cute. Sid and Stinky are dressed as those two characters from that show, what was it? Breaking Bad? Anyway, I see Patty and Harold dancing together, having a good time. They are both dressed as teens from the 50s, that's adorable. I finally look over and see Arnold and Lila sitting together on the seats away from the dance floor. Like Lila said, they are Romeo and Juliet. Wow, she looks like a skimpier version of Juliet, her tits look as if they're ready to pop out of that dress. The hem of the skirt reached to her knees exposing her pale legs. Her make up was on the light side of things. Even so, with Lila trying so hard, Arnold isn't paying attention to her assets. He looks pretty bored and I'm sure embarrassed being dressed as Romeo. The guys probably made jokes to him like "Arnold, this isn't the fourth grade! What are you doing here?" It is silly of him to be dressed as Romeo, nobody should ever dressed as something they don't want to be just to make the other person happy. Looking in my direction, he notices me with wide, curious eyes. I look away from him quickly and see Rhonda coming to me. She actually went with her Katy Perry costume idea. She looks pretty good I think.

"Oh my, Helga, you look incredible! I knew you'd figure something out", she says excitedly. "You don't look too bad either, Brainy. Have a good time, guys!"

We both shrug and walk to the food table. Everything looks delicious, I didn't know where to start! I grab almost everything I can fit onto my plate. Brainy doesn't grab much and follows me to sit with Phoebe and Gerald. Phoebe smiles at me and is mesmerized by my appearance. Geez, I'm just dressed as the Snow Queen, it's no big deal.

"Gosh, Helga, you look great!", Phoebe tells me. Gerald looks at me, too, and agrees with Phoebe. Phoebe looks so gorgeous with the kimono we picked out, her hair loose with cherry blossoms, and wielding a prop for a katana looked so great on her. I wanted to be a demon barber tonight, but being the Snow Queen Elsa seems a lot better. I blend in with the crowd and would have probably picked a fight with Harold about my costume if I did go with my original idea. I really owe Olga for letting me wear her costume tonight. I chat with both Phoebe and Brainy as I eat my big plate of food. I haven't eaten in hours since Olga helped me out for tonight. It's a perfectly good reason if I'm eating a lot. If someone were to judge me on that, then they'll get what's coming to them. From me.

The DJ plays Halloween themed mixes of popular songs that has everyone moving. It even made Lila drag Arnold to the dance floor with her desperate self. She really needs to cover herself up, she has no shame trying to show off her boobs and legs in front of Arnold, who isn't staring mind you, and the rest of the boys, who are staring. I let my food settle in my stomach before Phoebe, Gerald, and Brainy drag me to the dance floor. I've never really danced with anyone in a party like this so it felt awkward. I did my best to move to the beat but I felt like a clown trying too hard. Or worse, Lila. They laugh at me which made me laugh.

"Okay everyone, it's time for karaoke!", Rhonda shouts. We all walk over to the next room with this huge plasma screen TV and karaoke machine. "Everyone having a good time? I assume so! I'm sure all of you are nervous to come up here to sing a song, so I volunteer... Helga! She's dressed for the part", Rhonda teases at me. Oh god, she better not make me sing that fucking song as catchy as it is. "Come on up, Elsa! Show us what you got."

I walk up to Rhonda so she can give me the mic. I stick my tongue at her as she walks into the crowd with everyone else. I feel so nervous standing up here in front of everyone. Phoebe gives me a reassuring smile. So does Brainy. How sweet of him, I think. I glance at Arnold quickly who was also smiling at me. His eyes telling me, "You can do this." Damn you, Arnold! It's hard to not love you. I look back at Brainy, giving me signals to go on. I take a deep breath and say, "Let's do this."

The music to the song "Let It Go" starts to play. This song really gets on my nerves. My cue comes and I begin to sing, pretending no one is there listening to me. I close my eyes singing. I continue without cracking my voice or messing up a word. As I sing the best part of the song, I open up my eyes and notice everyone looks amazed. Is my voice really that good? Maybe I'll take up singing if this ends well. I continue singing through the song, this time seeing everyone smile with their mouths gaping. One person in particular is not impressed or plain jealous, which happens to be Lila. Arnold on the other hand, looks really impressed. I'm surprised I haven't messed up just by looking at him. As the finale comes, I go crazy with it. Everyone cheers for me even though this song is just so damn annoying! I take in this moment slowly. I never knew I had a good pair of pipes in me that were that good. "Thank you, thank you! Now, which one of you thinks they can top me?", I tease at everyone. Eugene is the first to grab the microphone and picks the song "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.

Phoebe hands me a cup of punch to drink. "That was incredible, Helga! I never knew you could sing."

"I didn't know either, Phoebs. Some kind of hidden talent, I guess", I joke with her. I turn to see Brainy with a sorry look on his face. I ask him what's wrong. Turns out he has to leave early. The babysitter ditched his brother so he has to fill in. I feel bad he has to leave so soon, I was having a good time with him. At least I still had Phoebe here. We say our goodbyes and I head back to the food table to grab some pastries. I chat with Phoebe a bit longer and gush over each others' costumes. Phoebe really did look amazing in my opinion and I'm sure to Gerald, too. It starts getting a little too loud in here, especially since Eugene has a strong set of pipes on him. I head to the balcony where the air was cool and empty. I do catch a couple there trying to hook up on this balcony. The girl already had her dress off while her boyfriend had his pants down. Really? I scare them off running back inside. Well that was awkward.

I sit down at the lonesome table to eat my pastries. They taste really good, so good I shouldn't be eating so much of it. I stare up at the moon, thinking to myself that tonight is actually fun. My costume was adored by everyone, I surprised everyone with a talent I didn't know I have, and I got to spend some of that time with a guy I used to find annoying. It's a shame he had to leave so soon. I'll catch up with him on Monday, I tell myself.

I get up from the table and walk up to the railing of the balcony. I stare more at the moon and take in more of the cool, fall air. I've never felt so relaxed in my life like I do now. I hear the door to the balcony opening and ruining my moment. I bet it was that couple coming back for something, like a condom or whatever gross thing they left behind. I hear the person walking towards me slowly. I growl and say, "Hey, you better get back if you know what's good for you! I called this spot and... Arnold?" I stop as I find out it is Arnold that came out to disturb me. My heart is beating so fast. Why is he out here? What does he want? Oh god, what should I do? He comes a little closer to me. I rest my hands on the railing, looking at him straight in the eye. He looks back into my eyes with those dreamy shades of green.

He finally says to me after such a long time of us not speaking to each other, "Hi Helga."


	6. Catch Me Up I'm Getting Out Of Here

**This isn't taking place after the last chapter, more like taking a glance in Arnold's perspective leading to the end of the previous chapter. I thought it'd be interesting writing as Arnold and gave it a shot for the story just this once. I want the next chapter to be as dramatic, so I need to put a lot of thought into it. I need to warn you, this chapter contains some sexual situations and the consumption of alcohol. I'm letting you know so you don't get offended XD Anyway, please enjoy and thank you so much for reading and reviewing! :)**

* * *

 _About two months ago..._

I've never felt so terrible as I did telling Helga Lila was interested in me and wanted to spend time with me. I've like Lila this whole time, I didn't feel like it'd be so bad. But seeing that look on Helga's face, her telling me to go after her, felt strange to me. It's weird. Helga and I were having such a great time I feel I've developed some kind of feelings for her. I'm sure she was feeling the same for me, right? I could be wrong, but still. Her expression told me she wasn't okay with the idea of me and Lila finally hanging out together, as a couple I assume. I watch her walk away from the shop, leaving me confused. She didn't have to pay me back for the ice cream either, it was on me.

I leave the shop and start heading for home. I then feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pick up and hear Gerald's voice. "Yo man, how's it going?"

"Uh, alright I guess. I feel pretty weird, though", I respond.

"Weird how? Did you eat some nasty crap or something?", Gerald asks. I haven't even told him yet about Lila. Phoebe and Gerald weren't at the party last night and Helga wasn't feeling well, so I was solo. I bet he'd be pissed at me if I didn't tell him what happened last night, _especially_ about Lila. I ask, "You think you can meet me at my place so we can talk about it? It's kind of important."

"Sure, man. Need me to bring anything?"

"No, nothing at all. I just need to talk.", I say to him.

"Okay, Arnold. I'll meet you there", he tells me before we hang up. I take a deep breath and start walking again. As I get home, I see my grandpa and grandma lounging outside the front of the boarding house. I love seeing them together after all this time. To me, their my parents after all. My real parents were never found, never to be heard from. I gave up hope on trying to plan ways to reach to them. Instead, I appreciated what I had in front of me and still do to this. My grandparents, the boarders, and the entire neighborhood. I wouldn't give all of this up for anything.

"Whatcha doing back so early, Short man? I thought you were going to be out all day with that one girl friend of yours", my grandpa asks.

"I had a change of plans, so it had to be cut short. Gerald will be here soon, so let him in when he gets here. Please", I tell him briefly. I walk inside the boarding house being welcomed by the most horrendous exposure of heat the building has ever experienced that I suddenly feel my shirt being drenched by sweat. Aw man, I think to myself. I walk up the stairs heading into my room. I take off my shirt and pants to slip into something more comfortable. My room still looks the same since I was 9 years old, but I added some new touches now and then. I own my own keyboard, and updated computer, just not so much in my room. It was awesome just the way it is. I turn on my stereo to listen to music so I can relax a bit. So much has happened so fast it was confusing me.

I hear a knock on my door, shouting for them to come in. Gerald comes in looking sweatier than I am. "Goddamn, it's like I walked into a freaking volcano in here!", he claims. It really was hot in here and there's no way I can walk upstairs to the roof without getting an ugly sunburn. Gerald settles himself in gulping down his water bottle on my beanbag chair. "So what do you need to talk about with me, my man?"

"Well, I went to Rhonda's party alone last night. Helga couldn't show up and I know you and Phoebe couldn't show up", I begin. He smirks at me wanting to continue. "I mingled with a few of our friends, it was alright. Sid decides to spike the punch so I steered clear away from it. But that's not important. Lila came to the party last night thirty minutes after I did. She hangs out with me, we talk, we dance for a bit, and then... She admits her feelings to me, saying she wants to be with me and start hanging out more."

Gerald looks shocked by what I have just said to him. "You sure she didn't mean being best friends with you, did she?"

"No, which is the weirdest thing! Why does she suddenly show feelings towards me. I always wanted to be with Lila, but now, it feels strange", I answer.

Gerald has a disappointed look on his face. Why does he look upset? "So, uh, what are you gonna do?", he asks me.

I honestly didn't know. Helga told me to go right for it but I don't think she meant it. Lila looked sincere this time and said she wants to give me a shot. "I don't know, Gerald. I mean, I could give it a shot, see what Lila is like as a girlfriend. She's a great girl, but I still find it weird of her to finally want me."

"Well... do what your heart tells you, man", he tells me. His cellphone receives a message suddenly and he checks it out. He looks a little relieved, already getting up. "I think I gotta let you go, Arnold. Phoebe wants me to see her at her place. Do what you think is right. I'll see you Monday."

"Later", I tell him as he leaves the room. I then sit on the other beanbag chair to think. Lila finally wants me and this is my chance to have her. It was great hearing her talk about her vacation back in her hometown and hanging out with her, but is it enough? It wasn't as much getting to know her more than I did with Helga who finally became a real good friend to me. Oh, Helga...

* * *

The first day of school now arrives. I left the boarding house early to walk with Lila to school. The day before was pretty fun, I guess. We went to the beach nearby, we ate ice cream, had a nice lunch. She even started to hold my hand. As we walk to school, she holds my hand and giggles shyly. Its pretty cute. I never had a girlfriend, so it's normal, I suppose. "Oh Arnold, this feels so wonderful with you! Don't you think so?", she asks as she squeezes my hand. Nervously, I reply, "Sure, it really does, Lila." She continues to giggle some more.

We make it to school having everyone's eyes on us. Some were surprised while others were approving. Lila and I walk through the hallway as everyone still stares at us. One person that wasn't yet to be seen in the crowd was Helga. I really hope she's doing alright. I haven't seen or heard from her after meeting with her at Slausen's. I see Gerald and Phoebe together chatting in front of the lockers. Phoebe looks at me as if she had seen one of her nightmares come true. First Gerald, now Phoebe? I wonder if the got food poisoning from their date the other night and are still managing.

"Good morning, guys! Are you ready to begin classes again?", Lila asks them. Gerald and Phoebe look at each other for a quick second and slightly nod at Lila. "It's okay, you two. The first day can be ever so tiring. I just feel so giddy now that me and Arnold will be spending oh so much time together." I smile awkwardly at both Phoebe and Gerald.

"Well, you guys should head to class without me, I need to go look for someone quick. Gerald, save me a seat, please", she says before leaving and giving Gerald a kiss on the cheek. We watch her walk away quickly away from us. I wonder if she went searching for Helga. Gerald, Lila, and I walk into the classroom to see almost everyone inside. Gerald already finds seats for both him and Phoebe. I follow Lila to the back where we pick our seats. We sit down getting our supplies ready for the class.

Lila stops and says, "I honestly feel over the moon right now, Arnold! I... I really feel so happy with you." Her eyes are wide, sparkling with excitement. I smile at her, nodding in agreement. I look away from her and see Helga already in the classroom searching for a seat. Wow, what did she do to her hair and bow? She looked great before, but now, she looks pretty cute. It suits her as well as her new wardrobe. Now that I think of it, Olga didn't make her do this, did she? It's awfully different of Helga to do. I call out to Helga twice but she doesn't hear me.

"One moment, Lila", I tell her as I walk to see Helga. I got her attention and she looks so gorgeous. I try speaking with her but she doesn't feel like talking. Is everything fine with her? I feel bad walking back to my seat. I sit down again looking in my backpack looking for a pen to write with. I look back at Lila and see she has a repulsed expression on her face. Confused, I ask, "Everything okay?" She nods at me awkwardly and tells me not to worry about it. Our teacher finally arrives clumsily. She sets her things down at her desk, introducing herself as Mrs. Pierce. She asks us to form our desks into a circle so we can all see each other and talk about our summer vacations. Fixing both mine and Lila's desk, I wonder, what should I say about my summer vacation? I did quite a lot, from helping my grandpa get the Packard running again, to spending a lot of my time with Helga developing a really close friendship. We take our seats, already everybody looks uncomfortable staring at each other. Mrs. Pierce asks for a volunteer, turning to see Lila is the first to volunteer. I'm a little worried hoping she keeps to herself about us. She talks about her time back home which is a lovely start, and then brings up her hanging out with me when she came back home. And calls me her boyfriend in front of everyone. I feel a bit embarrassed that the guys were teasing me about her. Even Sid had the audacity to make sexual hand movements at me while Stinky laughs. I throw my hand over my face hoping they'd stop. I remove my hand when I hear Helga's voice speak next. I smile at her hoping she has good things to say about her vacation. Instead, she tells us she had self realization? Whoa, what happened, Helga? She looks away from everyone as she finished sharing. I should try to talk to her later again.

Right before my next class started, Lila asks me to take her to the nurse's office. "Are you okay, Lila? What happened to you?", I ask her. She responds, "D-don't worry about it, Arnold. It was probably something I ate." I leave her with the nurse and telling her bye, assuming she was going home early. I head back to class almost being a few minutes tardy, but my teacher let it go since it is only the first day. As my teacher ended the class and let us free to go, I bump into Phoebe and Gerald. "Hey man, are you and Lila still down to get chili dogs with us?", Gerald asks me. I decline explaining Lila went home early and wanted to head home. With no hard feelings, Gerald and I do our handshake before we go our separate ways. Walking down the sidewalk, I notice Helga's a few feet away from me. I run up to her hoping we can make some conversation and hang out. It turns out Helga already had plans with her family and didn't want to disappoint Olga. Out of the blue, I stop Helga and ask if she's fine, if everything's alright between us, taking her speech from class into thought. She hesitates, but tells me things are okay. Somehow I didn't believe her. I watch her sprint away from me leaving me by myself, saying we'll hang out soon. Ah well. I just hope she won't have a bad night with her family. Why do I get the feeling Helga just rejected me? It felt odd. Looking back the other direction, I decide to meet up with Phoebe and Gerald in such short notice. I need to hang around good friends to get my mind clear off this whole situation.

* * *

I still can't believe it's been over a month since Helga and I lost spoke to each other. She decided it was best we stop talking to each other for her's and my sake. I remember that day so well. I felt something in me break that day, I didn't know what it was. I hugged her so tightly hoping it wasn't true. But it was. Ever since that day, Lila was feeling jealous towards Helga. Lila had nothing to be jealous of. Helga pushed me to be with Lila, and she became distant with most of our friends. She mainly stayed in the library studying. I'm proud of her taking her education seriously and hopes she finds a college she wants to go to when we're out of here. The more I thought of Helga, the more I felt guilty thinking of her over Lila. Lila did become more clingy to me over the month. We ate lunch with Phoebe and Gerald every day, we studied with each other, and hang out after school once in a while. When Lila isn't around, I pester Phoebe asking about Helga. I felt like such a clown asking her when I should have the balls and go talk to Helga myself despite her wanting to be alone. It also wouldn't be fair to Lila, even though what she wants isn't fair to me. I have a right to talk to whatever person I want, even if it was Helga. Like I've said, I've never had a girlfriend before and I'm sure Lila hasn't had a boyfriend before. I didn't know what was right or wrong, but I felt it was a duty to make sure Lila was happy. So happy I agreed me and Lila should be Romeo and Juliet for Rhonda's Halloween party coming up in a few weeks. It's been so long since I dressed up as Romeo for our 4th grade play, it'd be so embarrassing for me to come dressed as Romeo. And with Helga being Juliet, it was both weird but great acting with her. She looked cute, too. Even the kiss wasn't that bad, but I felt awkward laying there as she kissed me for what like more than a minute. Aw, Helga. I hope you're alright.

Lila and I walk back to the boarding house after school to hang out for a while. She did come around a couple of times and the boarders and my grandparents already got to know her. I don't think my grandma liked her very much due to the fact she went crazier than usual and gave Lila a catlike face not to mess around with me. I love my grandma, but that had to be the first time I was scared of her.

We walk into my room and sit on my couch. I relax while Lila begins to talk to me about her plans tonight. "So Arnold, I'm going over to Rhonda's house tonight for her slumber party and I think it'll be ever so fun", she tells me. "I've actually never been to one, so I hope the girls can teach me their ways of partying tonight."

I nod and say, "I'm sure you'll have a great time, Lila. It's Rhonda and she never fails at throwing a good party." She smiles at me and gives me a hug. "Oh Arnold, I believe you. I'll be in good hands tonight. What did you have planned tonight?"

"The guys invited me to hang out with them tonight at the bowling alley. I need some guy time since you're getting girl time, so we both should have a fun night being away from each other", I tell her honestly.

"Aw, Arnold, I'll miss you so much. But I promise you I'll have fun", she says. I nod my head in agreement. Slowly, Lila looks me in the eyes. She leans her head nervously towards mine and begins to kiss me. Is she really kissing me? Since we started dating, she hasn't kissed me like this. Mainly kisses on the cheek which were different. She leans more into me and I hold her in my arms. After a minute or so, my stupid hormones kick in trailing my hand over her chest that I didn't notice. She stops and slaps my hand away from me. "Nah ah uh, Arnold. I'm not exactly ready for that stuff yet, if that's okay", she says with a disapproving look on her face. I feel stupid and embarrassed for doing that. Why did I do that? "It's okay, Lila. I'm sorry", I tell her as I look away. She forgives me by giving me another kiss on the lips. After so many years I haven't kissed Lila, it felt so... Dirty to me. This is something I never ever want to tell the guys.

At the bowling alley, I feel more relaxed and free. It's been such a long time since I've actually hung out with the guys. We all tease at each other when it came to bowling the balls, Sid making sexual jokes about the bowling balls, and it was just a good time. I grab two Yahoo sodas for me and Gerald. I sit down with him and chat.

"You think the girls are having a fun night at Rhonda's?", I ask.

Gerald takes a big gulp from the soda and says, "I'm sure they're doing alright, but we are doing better. And speaking of, how are things between you and Lila?"

I feel my cheeks turning red. "Uh, things are going fine, I guess." I didn't want to bring up mine and Lila's kissing session without the guys saying dirty things to me. _Dirty_...

Gerald looks at me questioningly. Without trying to make it obvious, I ask Gerald, "If you don't mind me asking, how was your first kiss with Phoebe?" He quirks up an eyebrow at me, but didn't mind sharing with me.

"Well, my man, my first kiss with her felt amazing! We look each other in the eye, slowly going in until our lips touched, and it felt like a hailstorm of Cupid's arrows were swirling all over us", he says with dreamy eyes. That description didn't exactly fit in with mine and Lila's kiss. The first part happened, but I sure didn't feel any Cupid's arrows swirling around us. My hormones were the first to arise over Cupid and it felt _dirty._ Gerald eyes me, already reading my expression. "Why do you ask?"

It felt embarrassing to talk about. I speak in a way that doesn't reveal that I already kissed Lila. "I just had scary feelings about trying to kiss Lila... Um, I think, what if I kiss Lila, but I don't feel the way you did kissing Phoebe. Instead I feel... _turned on_ by the kissing that those feelings take over rather than loving feelings... Would that be weird? What do I do if that happens?" Gerald looks very confused at what I told him. He struggles trying to find the right answer for me.

"Look man, I did feel a little bit like that when I kissed Phoebe, but my feelings for her took over me rather than my feelings for her appearance. It was the two of us kissing, and only kissing. I have a lot of respect for my girl and didn't make any moves until she was ready. Now, if you feel if you kiss Lila and don't feel any of your feelings towards her move in sync with her feelings and make a move, then... I don't know, something must be wrong with you. Do you think your feelings might not spark when you'll kiss her?"

I didn't know what to feel. I feel wrong for making a move, but worse I didn't feel my heart and soul explode in that kiss. I didn't feel anything Gerald felt with Phoebe. I tell him, "I'm just curious, is all. I just don't want to make Lila think I'm some jerk or something."

"Just take your mind off of kissing and get to bowling. We're up against Harold and Curly and I want to make sure we beat their asses and win tonight!", Gerald shouts. We head back with the rest of the gang and play off Harold and Curly. Playing through the game cleared my mind completely and became focused on hitting every pin, winning every strike that I can. In the end, Gerald and I beat Harold and Curly. I've never felt this kind of rush in the past month, it felt great.

We end our night eating pizza talking crap to each other about our skills in the game. This night was very much needed for myself and I would sound selfish if I say this is the greatest night I have had to myself alone without Lila.

* * *

The next day arrives. I stay in my room working on assignments hoping to get done on time. It was a lot of math and a lot of science. Not my favorite topics, but I crammed every minute to getting my work done after having a great night with the guys. I'm sure they're working on homework, too, or just slacking off. I chuckle to myself imagining them still at the bowling alley horsing around.

Lila comes over around 5 o'clock to hang out and talk about each others' events. Lila didn't seem to have much of a good time like she thought. She didn't want to tell me why but she said one girl was being incredibly mean to her. I'm sure it was just a game, Lila can be very sensitive. To make her feel better, I didn't tell her about my night. I just told her my night could have gone better, too. I notice Lila has a huge bag with her she bought at the mall today sitting by her feet next to the couch.

"Arnold, as you know you and I are going to be Romeo and Juliet, I already picked out my dress I'm sure you'll find ever so perfect for me to be your Juliet", she tells me. I watch her pull the dress out of the bag as she stands in front of me. The dress seems too sexualized and is over Lila's style of clothing.

"Uh... It looks great, Lila. But are you sure this is the dress you really want? I'm sure we can look around together to find you another dress. And I wouldn't like it if other guys tried staring at you and-"

"Oh Arnold, I'm sure this is the dress I want. You see, something made me think that I can be just as good of a Juliet for you by taking it up a notch. I've been thinking I've been a little too closed off to you in certain ways and I just ever so want to experience so much more with you. I feel you're the one I want to open more of myself to", Lila tells me. She looks very seductive at me. She dropped the dress to the floor and climbs on top of me. Her eyes filled with a sudden lust, she kisses me hard. I feel her hand reach around my head feeling my hair all the way to the back of my neck. I felt strange doing this with her and couldn't control myself feeling her as well. I close my eyes not looking at her feeling stiff that I couldn't move. I feel her get off from me, kneeling in front of me unbuckling my pants. I felt my manhood sticking out, her hand wrapped around it. I still have my eyes closed as I feel her move me inside her mouth. I couldn't feel myself move. I felt disgusted with myself for enjoying this. For some reason, Helga came to my mind. I open my eyes, my foggy mind playing tricks on me seeing Helga in front of me performing the act on me. I scream making Lila stop and move away from me. I rub my eyes again seeing Lila and only Lila. She looks scared at me and embarrassed. "... Did I do something wrong, Arnold?"

Why did my gross mind have to think of Helga? Was thinking of her my only way of making Lila stop from seducing me? Or am I just some sick fuck who can't make up his mind? "N-no, no Lila, you didn't do anything wrong... I think maybe we should hold this stuff off for a while. I don't think I'm ready just yet. I'm sorry."

She looks at me with sad eyes, but smiles lightly at me. "It's okay, Arnold. I understand." We both sit back on the couch not looking at each other and fix ourselves up. I'm hoping nobody downstairs heard me scream. I'd have a whole lot to explain. _Shit_...

* * *

The day of the party is here. I head over to Lila's house dressed as Romeo, not feeling comfortable with myself. It's been a while since that awkward encounter we had. After that day, Lila has been acting pretty weird with me, I think trying to seduce me again. I couldn't allow that to happen again, it felt so wrong to me. I make it to Lila's house already knocking on her door. Her father opens up with a kind smile and lets me in. As I walk in, I see Lila come out not looking very much like herself. Even her dad was shocked to see her dressed like this. I hope he doesn't think this was my idea, because this is never what I imagined. I imagined Lila looking sweet and innocent instead of trying to be something she isn't from trying to bore me down. She didn't have to do crap like this for me. I would never want any girl to do this for me. That is, while we're still in high school. After that, it would be fine with me. Lila gives her dad a kiss on the cheek and she drags me out with her. I don't think her dad looked so happy with me now.

"What do you think, Arnold?", Lila asks as she pose provocatively in front of me. I try not to stare at her really wishing she picked a different dress.

I hesitate, "It looks... Good on you, Lila. You stuck to the dress you picked out..."

She giggles at me. We both head to Rhonda's house unfortunately receiving more than one glance walking there; Lila caught a lot of guys' attention. I really didn't like that. We make it to the party and as I suspected, we gained a lot more glances from the guys at the party. "Hey Arnold, the 4th grade called. They want their costume back!", Sid teased me while also examining Lila with a dirty look on his face.

I groan and drag Lila with me away from the main entrance and sit with her away from everyone else. I try to relax and not let her little stunt get to me. Hearing Rhonda yell with awe, I look over and see she's talking to... Helga? Helga... She looks so beautiful. She looks as if she's the Cinderella of the ball, instead being Elsa, a character she's not very fond of. What made her dress up like this tonight? I pictured her coming in as a dark, scary character with fake blood all over herself. And she came with _Brainy?_ Brainy, the same guy that she never returned the feelings for and is here with tonight? I couldn't stop staring at them until Lila shakes me from my thoughts, looking displeased. "Arnold, have you heard a word I said?"

I tell her, with a little lie, "No, I'm sorry, Lila. It's just everyone is dressed in awesome costumes and I had to look around... To make sure you have no competition tonight so you win the costume contest." She buys it and believes the two of us can win as a couple tonight. Sounds like a nightmare to me if I have to stand in front of everyone will everyone gawks at Lila. We get up to dance for a bit, although I did not look in Lila's direction to not look at her body shake while the other guys stare at her. It made me sick she chose to come dressing like this.

Karaoke is already starting in the next room. We gather around as Rhonda nominates the first person to sing for us, which happens to be Helga. Even annoyed having to stand in front of us, she looks magnificent. She looks at me, leaving my heart to stop beating for a millisecond. I smile at her letting her know she can do this. The music starts playing and she begins to sing. She sings beautifully, as if this song is meant for her. I've never heard her sing before, and I have to admit, she has an incredible voice. I don't think she even knew she had such a voice to have us cheer and sing along with her. As she finished, everyone in the room applauded for her, including me. She hands the mic over to Eugene who already picked out his song to sing for us. I look over at Lila and see she looks angry at me. Oh boy, what did I do now? She asks me, "So... Do you still think of her?"

"What do you mean, Lila?", I ask her.

"Don't play that way with me, Arnold. I saw you smiling as she got up in front of us to sing. You haven't smile like that in the longest time and it took her to make you do that?" she asks furiously.

"Look Lila, tonight's not the time to talk about our problems. You are dressed like some stripper and didn't care to think it would make me uncomfortable walking around with you dressed like that while those jerks check you out", I respond, trying to keep my voice calm.

Lila looks hurt by what I said. "I did this just for you, Arnold. I thought it would take your mind off of _her_ and I could have been the perfect girlfriend towards you. I don't like the thought of some other girl making you smile. What am I to you, Arnold? Some play thing? Do you even love me, Arnold?" It hurt me that I didn't know how to answer her. Did I love her. The truth is... No. I don't love her. If anything, I feel indifferent towards her. The expectations I had as a kid did not meet with me now. What the hell was I thinking? I didn't say a word to her, leaving her to cry and run to the bathroom. I have to apologize to her. I'm sorry I can't help what I feel. At the same time, I felt so pissed off at both her and myself. I felt like hitting the wall. Instead, I go over to the punch bowl knowing fully well that Sid had spiked it like he normally does. I drink one cup. Then another. And a third one. I could still feel so angry while feeling somewhat drunk. Through my peripheral version as well as I can tell, I notice Helga walk into the balcony, with Brainy nowhere to be found. Helga...

I don't know if it's me or the alcohol talking, but deep down, I knew I had to speak to Helga finally. I feel so stupid for letting this mess happen. For letting my friendship with Helga go down the drain just for Lila. For not telling Helga what I think of her. What I feel for her. I felt like admitting how much I missed her. How I couldn't stop thinking about her. How much I... Love her. Could it be? Do I love Helga? Was I this fucking stupid that I had to go through this mess, let myself feel like a jackass to figure out the person right for me is Helga Pataki? Goddamn it, after so many things I've done right, how could I have fucked this up. No more being the moron that I am! I'm going in.

I storm right through the dance floor leading to the doors of the balcony. I open the door and close it behind me. She hears me but doesn't turn until she meets with my eyes. Her invigorating big, blue eyes stare right into mine. Her expression surprised and expected. I didn't care if this messes with what she wanted for the both of us. Drunk or not, it's about time I clean up this mess. My mess.


	7. Are You Nasty? (cont)

**I feel so bad for making Arnold such an idiot xD I love Arnold and Helga together, but for the sake of the story, they're not getting together just yet. I love Arnold, so i feel super bad, lol. Like I said, i wanted to make this chapter as dramatic. I tried my best with it. The rest of the story will have more drama, so kind of expect that. Again, thank you for reading and reviewing, you're wonderful! And take it easy on Arnold, lol XD**

* * *

"Hi Helga"

I stand still gripping my hands on the rail. I couldn't believe it, is Arnold really standing in front of me? And why does he smell like liquored up fruit punch? Oh god, he's drunk.

"Arnold... What the hell are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be with Juliet?", I ask him a bit annoyed.

He answers, "Don't worry about that, Helga... I really need to talk to you about something. Can we please sit?" Is it important we need to sit? I wasn't going to obey him, important or not, we can talk standing. Better yet, we don't talk at all.

"No, Football Head, we can't sit down. I don't want to sit down, I was perfectly okay being alone out here without you. And I ask again, where's Juliet?"

Arnold suddenly turns serious. Was I going to let the beast inside him explode after all these years of me being rude to him? "Football Head... You only call me that now when you're pissed... I knew it, you're pissed at me. You have been the entire time school started. When I got with Lila... Helga, it's about time we talk and settle this."

"There's nothing to settle! Why can't you understand I want you to stay away from me? To let me be? You're so happy with Lila, so why do you still even think about me?"

"Because, Helga, I fucked up! I fucked up big time!", he yells. I stop, my eyes wide on him. This is the first time I hear him curse in front of me. Is it the alcohol or just him? I didn't know what to say.

"Look, Helga, I fucked up real bad. You think I wanted this mess that I created between you and me to happen? Hell no! I didn't know what the hell I was thinking. Instead of listening to my heart, I listened to my 9 year old self who was still pining over Lila. When in reality, as of now, as of since things were going so well, I'm pining over you! I have been for so long it took me until now to finally realize it. You make me feel things that Lila hasn't made me feel ever since I started being around her more. Lila and I are no good for each other, I feel nothing there, we don't connect much, I was more focused on putting her happiness and needs over mine rather than her doing the same for me. That's why I'm dressed as this shitty Romeo tonight for her. I didn't want this! I didn't want any of this to happen, Helga! And I didn't want you to distance yourself away from me. That's the last thing I would ever want. I... I lo-

"I'm gonna have to stop you there, bucko. You're drunk and pissed right now, and you're gonna say some stuff you're so going to regret. So just calm down", I interrupt him. I can't listen to any of this and I don't want to stay out here any longer.

But he doesn't stop there. "Helga... I made Lila cry to the bathroom because I couldn't say I love her back... I don't. I don't love her. And I know what I'm saying, Helga, this isn't the alcohol talking... I love you."

I feel like I'm frozen in time after he just said that. He stares at me waiting to get a response from me. I don't feel happy he's telling me this when he could have a long time ago before carrying this nightmare with him. I couldn't say anything kind or return my feelings. Instead, I feel rage consuming over me.

"How... How fucking dare you, Arnold? How the fuck can you do this to me?"

"What do you mean, Helga?", he fires back at me. Is really going to be playing like that?

"Since we're being honest, I have _plenty_ to say to you, too, Arnold. It hurts me to hear you finally say that to me. I've been in love with you since we were kids, since you first noticed me and my pink bow! I hid my affection for you behind the constant bullying I caused you! It didn't help much when that red-headed life ruiner came into the picture that all you could think about was her! It hurt me so much having to see that happen in front of me. And it was my fault for writing that stupid message on the wall, 'Arnold loves Lila'. That's right, _I'm_ the one that wrote that when originally it said 'Arnold loves Helga'. It really hurt seeing you fall for her, doing everything for her just because of her false image. It hurt even more when you two got together before school started! I was the one that was supposed to shout my feelings towards you, not her! She just wanted you because of how happy you made me and wanted it for herself. She did this to spite me. And I could tell for a while now, she's been jealous of me. She wanted to be the Juliet I made her give up so I can be your Juliet, and she wants to take that stupid role back by trying to get into your pants with that hideous looking dress! She wanted to make this all about her when it was my time to come clean to you. To apologize for everything I did and said when we were kids. To tell you how much I love you for everything you are and how incredible you make me feel that I would forget the fact that I had a shitty life growing up! I thanked you so much that I haven't killed myself while still dealing with the shit my family had put me through! My life has finally gotten better ever since I let you go. I wasn't going to let yours and Lila's relationship effect me to ruin my life. I hate her so fucking much, Arnold, I really do. She likes to think she's better than me, but I'm not going to let her smug attitude get to me after her little chat with me. She thought she could bring me down, but she didn't. I have a better relationship with my sister, I'm an honor roll student, and I'm loving me with warts and all since I'm the only one that has to love me. I loved you so much, Arnold, but I couldn't do this to myself any longer. I had to do this mainly for myself as much as I didn't want to let you go. I've grown into a much better person that I love. And it's the truth no matter how much you mean to me", I spill to him. I feel the tears in my eyes, streaming down my cheeks. I look away from him avoiding his eyes. He's as surprised as I am for telling him everything I've been hiding. What the fuck did I just do?

I didn't notice Arnold walking towards me. He places his hand on my now warm shoulder and turns me around. He makes me look him in the eye. Oh, those damn green, gorgeous eyes of his. "Helga... Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?"

I respond, "Because you're an idiot. Almost everyone knew but you. You were too oblivious to it! Did you really think I would change my attitude just for myself? To continue wearing this pink bow just for me?"

"You're right... I am an idiot. I'm an idiot for not catching the signs a long time ago. Even my grandpa made me think the way you picked on me was because you secretly liked me, but I brushed that thought away. I feel so stupid for everything and after you confessed to me right now. I honestly want to fix everything between us, Helga... Is there anything else you need to tell me before I let it slip passed me?", he asks with hope in his eyes. I think about it. I grin as the thought finally hits me. I pull his hand off my shoulder and slap him across the face. He falls back away from placing his hand on his cheek. I chuckle to myself watching him take in the pain. I have never ever slapped or hit Arnold in my life. Wow... "Okay, I deserve that. You can really pack a hit there. Ow...", he states still rubbing his cheek. I still laugh at him. He then looks at me smugly. "So, is that a way to get back at me?"

I stare at him, my laughter dying down. Where is he going with this? He gets closer to me again. He places his hands on my shoulders. He looks into my eyes, smiling at me. Oh no... He comes into my face, his lips against mine. I feel stuck in place, I'm so confused. He's finally kissing me, Arnold's kissing _me_! Oh shit, should I feel guilty about this? It breaks everything I stand for myself. I push him back away from me. "Arnold, are you crazy? You could have just pulled my hair or something! Didn't you just listen to thing I said?"

He still smiles at me, answers, "Didn't _you_ hear what I said? I'm an idiot and I love you, Helga. And I was expecting to get that kind of reaction out of you." I blush even though this feels so wrong. He pulls me close to him, holding me in his arms kissing me again. Has he not kissed Lila like this before? Thinking of Lila in this moment is a major turn off, but geez, I couldn't resist anymore. I set myself free and wrap my arms around him. This is not how I imagined my first real kiss with Arnold ever, but everything in his kiss felt so warm. So loving. My subconscious is probably shaking her head in disappointment with me; even I felt a little disappointed with myself. But one of my dreams is finally coming true. Arnold is kissing me in a comforting embrace. As I'm lost in our kiss, Arnold stops kissing me. I look up at him seeing he has a shocked look on his face. I turn around to see Lila standing behind us. _Oh shit..._

"Arnold... Is this really true? Do you _really love_ Helga?", Lila asks with tears in her eyes. This is something I was hoping to never experience, Juliet catching Romeo cheating on her with Queen Elsa. But it feels so good to see little Miss Perfect prove even more she's jealous of me. Still, no time to gloat about it.

"Lila, I know I can't explain anything, but it's true... Before you came back, my feelings for her were already blooming that I didn't notice. I'm sorry to say, but being with you, I just don't feel anything. And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you rather than you finding out like this", Arnold tells her bluntly.

"Arnold, my sweet, sweet, Arnold... Have you forgotten the times she has bullied you so much it can drive you into insanity? The same girl that got the other girls to gang up on me when I first came to Hillwood? Helga Pataki, the biggest, meanest girl there is this town has to offer?" Lila exclaims.

"Hey there, Juliet, I already explained myself to him before you got here", I tell her sourly.

"Stay out of this, Helga! This is between me and Arnold... I wanted you all to myself, Arnold. I give you my heart and this is what you do to me? We were so good together, Arnold! I was really hoping you'd forget all about Helga, but she was all you could think about, I knew it!"

"Lila, I didn't want any of this mess to happen! You got into my head like you always did, but I can't blame you for that. This is all my fault. I'm taking the blame for this. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel the same for you like I thought I did. I want to fix this all and end it", Arnold says.

"Fine, Arnold... If that's how you feel..." Lila stops speaking as she walks slowly towards the railing close to us. What the hell is she doing? She looks down for a quick second, beginning to climb the railing. Arnold and I jump into action without a plan. Is she really going to do this, of all nights?

"Lila, what are you doing?", Arnold shouts. He grabs onto Lila to bring her down, but she won't budge. She turns to face Arnold, grabbing at the collar of his shirt. She pulls on him tightly with an evil look on her face.

"If I can't have you, Arnold, then no one can. Not even Helga. Hope you take the blame for this, Helga, since you're the only one up here... Oh, Helga, stop! You don't know what you're doing!"

What the fuck?! Is she trying to frame me for her stupid actions? Oh no...

Lila pulls on Arnold, his body slipping halfway off the balcony. I chase after him trying to pull him back up. He hold onto Lila so her stupid ass doesn't fall hitting the ground. I struggle. Both of them together are so heavy for me to pull back up. Lila screams trying to get everyone's attention. "Stop it, Helga, stop! Help us back up! Why are you doing this to us?" Few of the party goers watch up in shock. Fucking Lila, I see her game. Fortunate for me, I hear Gerald and Phoebe come out to see what's happening.

"Phoebe, help me! These two are going to fall to the ground, I can't hang on for much longer!", I cry to Phoebe for help. Without asking what's going on, Phoebe comes to my rescue along with Gerald. She grabs around me as Gerald grabs onto her. The three of us pull with all our might but Lila is making it difficult for all of us.

"Helga, it's no use! She's pulling on me, I can't hang on!", Arnold shouts to me. Horror overshadows me. Please Arnold, don't let go of me. Don't let Lila drag you down with her. He looks up to me one last time. He smiles at me giving me a sorry look. _Oh Arnold, please don't._ "Pray I make it out okay... I love you, Helga." He lets go of my arms and falls to the ground with Lila. I hear myself scream in terror, screaming no with all my heart. I'm sure the whole town has heard me. What the fuck just happened?! Phoebe and Gerald hold me back from trying to fall down for Arnold myself. The tears already streaming heavily down my face. I break free from their grips and rush downstairs passing everyone. They stare at me running through, exiting the front door. They obviously don't know what just happened due to the damn music being so freaking loud. People were already calling the ambulance outside. I rush towards Arnold to check on him. Luckily there's no blood on the ground but a few scrapes on him and a bruised forehead. I check for a heartbeat quickly. There it is! Oh Arnold, please wake up! You've done a lot of stupid crap, this has to be the biggest you have ever done. Please wake up...

* * *

Arnold and Lila are already checked in the hospital. Without bothering to change, I go to the hospital still wearing my costume. Gerald and Phoebe came along with me so I wouldn't have to be alone. They were as scared as I was not knowing what could happen to Arnold. While Lila was in a separate room, I wait in Arnold's room hoping he'll wake up. I was left alone with him until he woke up. His grandparents will be coming soon. I called them to let them know where's he at and asked them to hurry down here. Of all nights, why does shit like this have to happen? And to Arnold of all people? He didn't deserve this as much of an ass he became. I'm too worried about Arnold I could care less what happened to Lila. She made the situation worse by doing something stupid like this.

The doctor said he's okay. He's lucky the fall didn't kill him, but give him a broken leg. The doctor even filled me in on Lila, telling me she's alive, too, but has a sprained ankle, a broken wrist and two broken ribs. Nothing fatal. Lila won't be getting a piece of my mind anytime soon, I guess. That little bitch! I get up from my chair pacing back and forth to calm myself down. I really hope no one heard Lila cry out blaming this on me. If they did, I hope they don't believe her. I have no reason to throw both her and Arnold off a balcony to their deaths. I can't even think of something as psychotic as this!

I hear a groan come from behind me. I turn and see Arnold waking up. I walk over to him and see his eyes opening up again. He looks around the room, finally his eyes setting on me. "Did I break anything major?", he asks me. He chuckles at me. I smile at him.

"Just your leg. Other than that, you should be fine", I tell him.

"Didn't think I'd be waking up to see you in your costume still. I thought I'd be in a coma", he jokes.

"Are you okay, though? You had me scared to death", I ask him, still shaking.

He shrugs, "I could feel worse. I'm just glad to see you here. Do my grandparents know?"

"Yeah, I had to let them know you were here. They'll be here soon."

"Great. Dare I ask... How's Lila?", he asks.

"Doing worse than you like she planned. However, she's still alive", I tell him, still pissed off at her. He tries smiling even though he shares my anger. I can sense he feels guilty for letting this get too far that it could've led to his death and me taking the blame. I feel bad enough that I can't still forgive him just yet because of Lila. I don't think my heart can take what I'm about to tell him. "Arnold, I don't think I can be around you just yet until you clean this up with Lila completely. It felt so good to finally tell you the truth and how I feel, but I can't forgive you so easily just yet. Lila has turned this into a giant shitstorm now the three of us can't escape. I feel like a bitch telling you this, Arnold, but it's the truth. I'm sorry. I wish this could have been prevented earlier."

Arnold looks upset at me but he understands. He grabs my hands, tells me, "I'm truly sorry, Helga. You don't know how terrible I feel about this. Take all the time you need from this and I'll understand." He smiles at me and I smile in return. Phoebe suddenly runs into the room with wide eyes. I look over to her and can tell something is wrong.

"Hey Phoebe, is something wrong?", I ask.

"Helga, don't panic, but I have something shocking to show you", she tells me. Oh no, what could it be now?

She pulls up her cell phone, pulling up an internet post with a recording of the incident. The video captions 'Couple Is Thrown to Their Deaths by the Hands of Helga Pataki' Arnold and I stare at the phone, bewildered that anyone would have the sick mind to do this to us. To me. This is worse than anything we could imagine.

Oh shit.


	8. I Won't Give Up Without A Fight

**It's been a couple of days now, I finally figured out how I want the rest of the story to go since I have been having these weird dreams lately. Anyway, I feel this could have gone better but I did it anyway and hope you continue to read along. I also drew some character designs for Arnold, Helga, and Lila, so message me if you're interested to look at them. :)**

 **And to the last guest reviewer, thank you for your kind words. I won't get into it, but thank you. I try my best writing since I don't normally write in first person when it comes to storytelling, so I'm sorry if my writing or how I type things is not good. I will go back and revise the previous chapters, nothing major. And thank you to those who are still reading my story.i really appreciate you guys reading my first story. I actually have another idea for a story I want to write after this one since my favorite season and holiday will be around the corner ( I want to write some kind of scary story, mwuahaha). I hope you guys still stick with me once this story is over. 3**

* * *

It's been a couple of days since I've last seen Arnold. Lila has really done it this time, especially trying to frame me for her stupid little stunt. Phoebe worked all weekend to get that stupid post online down before anyone we know sees it. She managed to get it pulled down, but it was the copycat posts that were more trouble to get taken down. I've explained everything to Olga when I went back home after finding out about the post. Olga didn't know until I told her what happened. She knew Lila was a sweet girl when we were kids, it was hard for her to believe she would do something this stupid. Luckily, Olga's sticking by my side and helping me hide the incident from our parents.

It wasn't until school started the next week. I got a few stares at me. Some of the students even backed away from me if I crossed their path. They seriously can't be this stupid, can they? I go into my locker to pick up my books. I then notice Rhonda, Sid, Stinky, Phoebe and Gerald come up to me. It looks as if Phoebe and Gerald tried to stop the others from coming to me.

"Helga, tell me this _thing_ that happened at my party isn't true, is it?", Rhonda demands.

"Did you really do this, Pataki? Did you purposely try to murder Lila and Arnold because of your own jealousy?", Sid accuses angrily at me.

"Yeah! How could you do this to Miss Lila? What has she ever done to you?", Stinky asks sourly.

"Guys, stop it! I know we're still freaking out about this, but Helga could never do such an evil thing like this! I saw with my own eyes Helga was trying to save them, she called for mine and Gerald's help to pull them back up to safety. That video showed no such thing of Helga pushing them off, you can barely see her in the shot!", Phoebe cries out.

"It's true. Helga could never do such a thing like this, she's honest", Gerald says. I'm glad these two have my back. I felt my eyes feeling watery just knowing they believe me.

"How do we know that? You could be covering for her, too!", Sid shouts. Stinky nods his head in agreement.

"Sid, can you shut up? I know Helga well enough she wouldn't do something as vile as this. I know her ways and being some kind of attempted murderer isn't one of those things. I just still can't believe something as sinister as this could happen in my home. Two people could have died in my home!", Rhonda says. She calms herself down by breathing steadily.

I look at each one of them and finally speak. "You know what, guys, believe whatever you want. You can ask Arnold yourself, but hey. You might accuse him of covering for me, too. If you ask Lila, of course she's going to stick to that sob story of hers and blame me for hers and Arnold's 'accident'. And you'll eat that crap up because she's Little Miss Perfect! But I'm telling you, even Phoebe and Gerald are telling you, I didn't do shit. So believe whatever you want. Also, if any of you even try to gang up on me, turn everyone against me having them believe I'm some jealous harpy, then you're just as bad as Lila Sawyer."

I slam my locker shut and walk away from them. I can feels their stares burning in the back of my head. I ignore it and I walk to the library to get my mind clear. I was really hoping none of this would happen. And for them to believe Lila over Arnold would be disgusting. He was there, too. He was part of that accident he was dragged into. How could they believe Lila is this angel while Arnold was treated like he was lucky to be with her and I'm some devil woman? Arnold has been our friend for years, they just can't believe Lila over his word. I hope they didn't find out about our make out session. That would make us look even more terrible and back up Lila even more.

I dig into my notes to concentrate for my quizzes today. I couldn't even do that without some of the students gossiping around me. I stare up at the clock and notice it's already lunch time. No matter where I would go, people would be talking. I get up from my chair to exit the library. The first person I run into is Brainy. Oh no, _Brainy_! He must have found out already. "Um, Helga..."

"Brainy, now's not a good time to talk about this. I feel like I'm in a nightmare as it is. All because of... It's not important. Just know, I would never do a thing like this. I can't even think of a murderous plan on the spot because I'm not some psychopath." I look at Brainy hoping he would believe me. It's so strange seeing him again after the party. I feel guilty at the same time knowing when he left, Arnold and I confessed to each other and kissed which led to this in the first place.

Brainy pats my shoulder and says, "I believe you, Helga." He smiles at me, reassuring me he's honest. I couldn't help but hug him right then and there. I know I've gotten into trouble before, but this is one of those times where I truly needed someone by my side so I wasn't alone. We finish hugging as I get a text message from Phoebe. It reads: Whatever you do, don't go into the cafeteria. Gerald and I are behind the bleachers. Meet us there.

Is Sid creating some sort of army in there? I'm sure if I were to walk in there, the whole room would have its eyes on me. It felt dangerous being surrounded by people who are angry at me or praised me for doing what I did that I didn't do. It turns out I wasn't the only one who didn't like Lila like everyone else did. I shake off my thoughts and not let whatever everyone thought get to me. I let Brainy come along with me to meet with Gerald and Phoebe for he may become a target, too.

We walk without anyone spotting us. I never imagined having to sneak around school to protect my own life. Almost there, I dash into the bleachers as Brainy follows. Gerald and Phoebe were together eating their lunch, along with Rhonda? What the hell is she doing here?

"Phoebs, what is Rhonda doing here?", I ask. It's strange seeing her with them, like seeing Cleopatra hanging out with her servants.

Rhonda answers, "Because I don't think you'd something this heinous. I probably should have mentioned this to you earlier, Helga, but Lila did show some strange signs the day after my slumber party I didn't take too seriously. We all didn't." Phoebe nods her head in agreement with a guilty look on her face.

"What do you mean, Princess?", I ask her already getting impatient.

"What I mean is, I think that something could have drove Lila to become... Crazy. When you left after lunch, we continued to talk about our costumes and the party. We checked out Lila's dress and it was not very fitting for her to be wearing that, especially with half the guys being huge perverts. I tried to convince her to change the dress, but nothing worked. She said she wanted to be the perfect Juliet that Arnold would never let her go. She also said something that if Juliet were to be taken down in a reversed scenario, then Romeo has to go down with her? Somewhere along those lines, I don't exactly remember. But it made me think a lot... Did something happen between you and Arnold that night that it may have lead to their jumping?", Rhonda asks. Everyone was staring at me with anticipation. _Uh oh_.

I try to speak but I'm also afraid of what they'll think of me. "Well... Okay, here's how it started. When I arrived at the party, I noticed Arnold couldn't take his eyes off of me. During karaoke, he stared at me while Lila gave me a hateful look. I went outside the balcony to be alone, and guess what? Arnold follows me there while being drunk. Apparently he and Lila got into a fight. Then we kinda got into a fight, admitting everything to each other where he _finally_ decides to tell me he loves me! And we... Kissed. Which is where Lila decided to bring herself in after hearing and witnessing us. She then climbs on top of the railing, grabs onto Arnold as he tried to bring her down, and jumps off dragging him down with her. Unfortunately, Gerald, Phoebe, and I couldn't save them... And that's the full truth."

Everyone is now quiet looking away from me. It was weird telling them what happened. Especially about the part where Arnold and I kissed. I hope Princess Rhonda keeps this to herself. Who knows what would happen if the whole school found out. Arnold and mainly I would be targets for 1: cheating on Lila and 2: making Lila want to jump to her death blaming me. This all sounds like some bullshit teenage drama television series. Unfortunate for me, it's all too real.

"So what does this mean for you and Arnold?", Phoebe asks.

This is the hardest thing to answer. I remember what I told Arnold that night. It hurt to say it to him but it's to keep us safe and for him to fix this mess up with Lila. "Arnold and I still need to keep some distance away from each other. As much as it still hurts me, it's the best thing we can do. And he still needs to figure out this thing with Lila. They basically created this for me. I mean, I still want to check on him at the hospital. But for now, all I can do is keep away and try to save my skin from all those Lila admirers."

Rhonda moves closer to me placing her hand on my shoulder. "You don't need to worry about a thing, Helga. We've got your back. I've got to say, I admire your maturity. And if anyone tries to attack, we'll be ready for when that day happens", Rhonda says. When did she become so strong that she's sticking by my side? She's no princess I can tell. She's more of a queen I picture in my mind. I've never imagined someone like Rhonda playing a powerful role that she would keep this between our small group and ready to take a shot for me. I look over to Phoebe and Gerald who still have my back. Brainy looks upset from what I explained about me and Arnold, but with a small smile, he lets me know he still has my back. I hug each one of them feeling grateful towards them standing by me. I have a feeling this might not be so easy for us. We still had to convince others I'm innocent and Sid was not one of those people. He could really take anything and blow it out of proportion. I just hope we get to the others before he does.

* * *

I sit with Arnold in his hospital room chatting with him. We have a couple of laughs just to take our minds out of the craziness that won't end. We play a game of checkers to keep it down for the other hospital guests around us. I was beating him like I always did when we played. It feels nice playing with him again after so long. Arnold then looks up at me and asks me the dreaded question I was hoping to avoid. "So... How was everything in school today?"

Moving my checker piece, I reply, "It... Wasn't the best. I think Sid is trying to get everyone to think I'm some sort of devil woman who tried to kill you and Lila. So it's best to say her plan is working like she wanted it to."

Arnold gives me a sorry look. "I really am an idiot to let things turn out like this. I should have had a proper talk with Lila rather than doing what I did and drag you into this. Sid doesn't know what happened. Nobody knows what happened but you, me, and Lila. He even gave me a call today during your guys' lunch time."

"Really? What did he want?", I ask curiously. I wasn't in the cafeteria to know what was going on and didn't want to know.

"He first asked if I was okay, the usual. Then he asks about Lila. I explain what happened and told him you're innocent assuming everyone found out, but that wasn't good enough for him. He believes Lila is innocent along with the rest of the guys. No one should be taking sides and make you look like this villain. I honestly don't know what made Lila want to do something so dangerous like that. I blame myself for this", Arnold says glumly.

Irritated to know, I ask, "Um, have you heard from Lila recently? You two are in the same building, I don't think she's able to leave yet."

"I actually haven't. I just know she has it worse than I do but she's fine. I'm not ready to face her yet, I'm pretty pissed off at her for doing this and I don't want to risk breaking another limb over her."

"Well, I don't know what's going on in her pretty little head, but Rhonda gave me information about her. Like she's crazy or something. Needs to be put into a straightjacket. I may have exaggerated with the last one, but something must be wrong with her. I never took her to be some closet psycho", I tell him. He gives me wide confused eyes. Was he too focused on me while he was with her that he didn't notice a hint of crazy? I look at the clock. Visiting hours are almost over so I help put the checker pieces away. "Just don't worry about it, Arnold. You're safe here and have lots of time to think about cleaning your part up. I have people on my side that are helping me out from danger. Once you're out of here, we'll figure out what we have to do about Lila and the others. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Arnold nods and smiles at me. It'd be awkward if I gave him a kiss on the cheek or tell him I love him like I'm his wife, so I rubbed my hand on his shoulder and left his room. I feel like there is something else I need to do while I'm still here. I couldn't let Arnold know, so I ask the nurse where I can find Lila while I'm still here. She leads me to her room and lets me stay the few minutes there is for visiting hours. I walk in and see Lila eating her dinner. It's been so long since I last saw her. Her hair looks a mess, she has a cast around her torso and bandages wrapped around her wrist and ankle. She looks over at me, not very happy to see me.

"How are you feeling, Sawyer?", I ask with distaste in my tone.

She puts her tray down on the side table and folds her arms across her chest. "Why do you care, Helga? I mean, you did try to kill me and my beloved Arnold."

"Enough of this crap, Lila!", I shout trying to keep my voice down. "You can't play the victim here. You started this the day you came to speak to me, letting me know Arnold was all yours. You really think I cared up until now? What is it you have against me besides the obvious?"

Trying to calm herself down, with a sigh, Lila says, "There's something not everyone knows about me, not even Arnold. I noticed your life was getting better between your sister and parents, you've been doing so much better in school practically almost all the girls wanted to be your best friend even when you secluded yourself away from everyone, and Arnold just grew more curious about you. You became this perfect little gem everyone wanted a piece of. And how do I fit into this you may ask? You see, I adored that attention you have that I used to have. Back in the 8th grade, things were going terribly for me. My dad had to work more than two jobs to provide for us, so he was hardly around. And when he was, he was so tired that he would drink himself to sleep to ignore the stress and sometimes he would forget I was there.

"I had to take care of myself and him when he became drunk. Fortunately he never hit me, but it was ever so depressing seeing him get like this. I'm always so scared he might one night die in his sleep. He doesn't give me any attention like he used to, and it doesn't help either when I don't have a mother around. I felt so alone that it drove me to insanity. The only time I felt safe was when I went to stay with family back in the countryside. They offered me to live with them, but I couldn't let my dad stay by himself not knowing when he will wake up alive. When I came back, Arnold was my only source of happiness to struggle with the life I'm dealing with right not. I felt so trapped and alone until I ran into Arnold after my vacation.

"He made me forget everything that I wanted him to myself knowing fully well he was very interested in you. When I asked him to be my boyfriend, I felt I was in a safe place that I grew stronger feelings for him and needed him to keep me feeling happy and well. But even when I had him, it was still impossible to gain full attention from him because all he could think of was you. No matter what I did, he didn't like it. Even with my Juliet costume, he was repulsed by it. And if I tried to sleep with Arnold, he still wouldn't like what I was doing to him. All he could ever think of was you! And seeing you two kiss shattered me. I saw passion in him that I never felt with him. And hearing him declare his love for you was the worst. I couldn't let myself feel humiliated because of you guys. So I felt it'd be better if we go down together rather than let him get away from me and run after you. But that part failed for me. I imagine he still wants you, he hasn't bothered to check on me. However, everyone believes you pushed us off because you have feelings for Arnold and they'll believe what I have to say since you became this new center of attention when you left Arnold with me. They'll think you were jealous of me that you obviously did this. Not me. Like I told you a long time ago, everyone felt Arnold and I were perfect for each other. You and Arnold would have looked like some sick joke."

I stand frozen in front of her bed. She dropped a lot of information on me that no one ever knew. She wasn't as perfect as we all thought she was. Still, it doesn't excuse the fact she used Arnold for her own selfish reasons and dependency for him. "You... you really are crazy! No offense to you and your father, but doing this to me? To Arnold? How the hell could you do this?"

"I know, Helga. You finally have a family that notices you're there and the boy of your dreams chasing after you. But I won't cut the act. I've let myself get hurt over you that I'd rather see you fall for what I created with Arnold. You two broke my heart and I won't let it go so easily. And I suggest you leave now before I call the nurses on you and make a scene", she threatens.

I stand speechless at her words. She's gone from this little perfect angel to a complete train-wrecked narcissist. I leave the room before I felt my head spin out of control it would have flown off my shoulders. I feel my body shiver as I leave the hospital and walk home. I didn't care if anyone I knew was around, I just needed to be left alone. I think of the only place I can go where I can calm my nerves down and be completely alone.

I walk over to Mighty Pete. It's been left standing still for future generations. These days kids are more interested in taking half naked pictures of themselves or posting stupid things on the internet that they could care less about playing with others and actually being kids. I climb up into the tree and see some of the stuff we left behind here when we stopped coming in. A photo of me, Phoebe, Arnold and everyone as kids is still placed where we left it, labeling "Founders and Saviors of Mighty Pete". I stare at the photo remembering everything from good to bad. I always had it bad, bu at times it was good. I smile looking at a younger Arnold bringing a tear down my eye. We had many great memories as kids together. I kind of wish we didn't grow up if I knew something like this would happen.

I then get a phone call from Olga. I pick up and answer. "Helga, where are you? It's already getting late, we're worried about you. Are you okay?", Olga asks. I hear she's worried that it's probably a sign I should get going.

"I'm fine, Olga, relax. I'll be home soon. I needed to make a quick stop first."

"Okay. Just make it home soon. We're waiting on you to eat dinner", she tells me warmly. It's wonderful knowing they're waiting on me to eat with them. I'm pretty sure Olga cooked dinner and wanted everyone to wait. Knowing how she cooks, it'd still be nice and hot to eat. I assure her I'm on my way and hang up. I then remember Lila's words. It made me feel ill, but I shake it off. If this is how Lila wants to play things, then I won't give up without a fight. Even if it means everyone will hate me for attacking "the sweetest girl" Hillwood has to offer. No one, and I mean _no one_ messes with Helga G. Pataki.

I take a deep sigh, and climb down from Mighty Pete. I take one last look at the giant tree thanking it for the comfort it has given me. I then take one more sigh and finally head home.


	9. Are You Saving Me?

I'm having computer trouble, meaning my laptop is dead and can no longer type the way I want to. However, I'm still trying to write but through my iPod. This chapter could have sounded a lot more better, so forgive me if this looks and sounds bad. I wish I typed it sooner xD

* * *

7 months ago...

"Arnold... Earth to Arnold!", I shout. Arnold and I are working together in the classroom for our history project. The whole time he's busy staring at Little Miss Perfect, Lila. While I have him as a partner to myself, he still seems to be distracted by that girl who turns heads wherever she goes. After elementary, he still has the hots for her. Sure her hair is red and flowy, her face has no imperfection, and her chest and ass has gotten bigger, and has every guy's attention doesn't mean she's all that. She loves the attention whether she admits it or not.

"Huh? I'm sorry, Helga. I just can't really... Think right now", he answers. Arnold took Lila out last night to see some kiddie movie; the baby is still not into scary movies. And after everything he tries to do for her, she gives him the usual crap: "I don't like you like you, I just like you." How many times does he have to let that girl get to him where she ends up stomping all over his heart? It hurts me sitting here while he stares at her as much as it hurts him seeing Stinky flirt with her and she's all giggles. It really frustrates me when Lila always has Arnold following her like a little puppy dog giving her affection but she won't do the same. It's none of my business to interfere, but here goes.

"How much longer are you going to let her walk all over you, Football Head? It's not my place to say or even care, but... you're losing focus on our project because she just likes you, your grades are more important than her! And... You're a good guy, you don't need someone like her using you every chance you have with her. She loves attention, and if you keep feeding into her, you'll end up feeling empty inside... You're worth more than just a pleaser to those who truly don't appreciate you...", I tell him as my cheeks turn pink. He looks at me with those wide, green eyes and blushes. We look away from each other for a minute until the bell rings for us to leave. Lila looks over to Arnold and waves at him with a smile. how disgusting can she possibly get? I ignore that thought and get up quickly gathering my notes. Arnold looks at me again and I tell him, "Just because I'm being nice about your Lila situation doesn't mean I actually care. It's my grade, too, you know. We gotta ace this with flying colors."

Arnold smiles and says, "Whatever you say, Helga. And, thanks. You can be tough, but you're... Pretty amazing." He gathers his things and leaves as he waves bye to me. I stand still feeling the butterflies in my stomach flutter all over leaving no corner untouched. A big smile grows on my face and my cheeks feeling warm. I think to myself, maybe I can be a bit more nicer to Arnold. I haven't done anything mean or cruel and he's getting used to me. And maybe, just maybe... I can tell him how I feel. But it has to be perfectly planned out. I mean, who knows how he'll feel since I'm not pretty, sexy, and nice. It's worth a shot. I am pretty amazing and that's good enough.

Arnold, with no obstacles in my way and the summer coming up, I will finally make you mine.

* * *

I sit in my room all by myself. Arnold is back home with his grandparents while Lila is still getting treatment at the hospital. She wasn't alone since half the school kept visiting her. Even her dad requested time to be with her, but with all of her visitations, it's not good enough. I can't shake her words out of my mind. I haven't even told anyone else about it since what's the point? She's painted me as this villain and wants me as a person to be destroyed. I keep thinking of ideas I can do to make her crack. It's just so hard and it drains any hint of energy I may still have. What could possibly be a weakness? Something she may have never been exposed to? I hear my phone ring and see it's Arnold. "Hello?"

"Hey Helga, how are you doing?", he asks. With a broken leg, he cares to know how I'm doing rather than caring about himself. It's been one crazy ride for the both of us that just won't end.

"We'll I'm not the one with the broken leg, don't worry about me. I'm fine, sorta", I reply. I can't bare to tell him what Lila has said to me, but I can tell he knows something is up. He'd be in more stress than it is and I'll gain even more of it. Still, he should have a right to know I went to go see that fake goody two shoes. "Arnold, I have to tell you something."

Without hesitation, he says, "Helga, I know what happened with Lila. I went to go see her before I left the hospital today. She told me you two had a chat with each other and she said some pretty disgusting things that made my head spin. I gotta say, she makes me feel so vile about myself and terrible she would do such a thing to you."

"Wait, you know what happened?"

"Yeah. I couldn't just leave her there without seeing her as much as I didn't want to. My grandpa kinda made me go see her since it is partly my fault... I wish I could just go back in time to stop this from happening and just tell you how I felt. You made me realize I did deserve better, but something in the back of my head said 'No. I still want Lila'."

I joke and say, "You mean your dick?" Arnold bursts out laughing but I could sense the embarrassment in his laugh. I couldn't help but laugh, too.

"I wouldn't be so crude about it. I honestly do wish I could stop myself, beat the crap out of that little voice in my head and go straight after you. Helga, I lo-"

I cut him off immediately. As much joy it brings me for him to tell me he loves me, I still can't take him in just yet. I'm a target and having any sort of relationship with Arnold would be a huge mistake. It would prove Lila is innocent and make me and Arnold look like we committed a crime of adultery against her. I say, "I know, Arnold. I do, too. But you know how I still feel and you're technically still with Lila. Until we can figure this out, there may be a possibility. But for now, we need to keep it low. We can't risk anything and I need some time. So do you."

Arnold is quiet, trying to figure out the words to say. He sighs and says, "You're right, Helga. I'm sorry for all of this..."

"Take the time to worry about yourself and heal. And find out a way to break it off with Lila. She's caused you enough trouble as it is. I'll talk to you later, okay? And don't worry about me, I'll be fine", I tell him.

"Alright, Helga. Whatever you say", he says warmly. I know he'll still be worrying about me as much as I'd be worrying about him. I still love the guy, but there's just so much happening. Talking to Arnold like this hurts me more than the way I used to speak towards him. It's for the best and our safety. We say our goodbyes and hang up.

It's already 7 o'clock and I have no idea what to do. I pace around my room in my nightgown thinking of ways how to break Lila. I still have no clue what a weakness of hers can be. She likes to come off as untouchable and has the boys falling for her while the girls stand by her side. Hmmm...

I then hear a knock at my window and see Brainy. What is Brainy doing here? I walk over to my window to let him in. He trips over the window sill and lands head first onto my floor. I help him up as he slaps the dust off his jacket. It's strange seeing Brainy in my room this late without even giving me notice. He's never been in my room before, I don't think. He could have been since he was my stalker. I shake that idea and ask, "What's going on, Brainy? Someone trying to hurt you?"

"No", he says bluntly. "I just wanted to see you." He comes closer to me, face to face. I feel the adrenaline rush in me, feeling scared of what he might want to do. He places his hands into my cheeks and says, "Helga... I like you. A lot. I want to protect you from this mess you're in... I may not be Arnold, but..." He stops and as I felt it coming, he goes and kisses me. He doesn't hold me tightly that I could've broken free and slapped him away from me, but I stood still as if I were a deer in the headlights. Without realizing, I return the kiss and drag him with me onto my bed. I'm not sure what it was. Could be the stress with Arnold or the fear of Lila breaking me into a weak person, but I couldn't stop kissing Brainy. He removes his jacket and drops it to the floor.

I never thought of kissing Brainy in my life ever and have him underneath me in my bed. I never felt something like this until Arnold kissed me on Halloween. Arnold... Opening my eyes seeing Brainy kissing me, I start to feel horrible. With my head beginning to clear, me kissing him felt so wrong. I also feel like I'm cheating on Arnold even though he still isn't mine. I stop kissing Brainy feeling his hand sliding towards my butt. I slap his hand away and get off of him. Rubbing the temples of my eyes, I say, "Brainy... As touched as I am, I think it was a mistake for you to come. It's nothing against you, it's just..."

He nodded knowing what I would say. "... I'm sorry", he says nervously. It wasn't anything bad, really. I feel like I can't see him as anything else but a friend as sweet and generous he's been towards me all these years. Instead of punching him in the face, I punched him right in the heart. I already feel like a disgusting tramp just by doing this. The way his lips felt against mine felt like I was kissing a girl...

A girl... I think an idea hits me on the head, and it took Brainy to help me out with that. I look over to Brainy and give him one more kiss by surprise. "Brainy, my friend, I think you may have just helped me out with something." He looks confused at me but blushes.

I send Brainy on his way before any of my family members tried to check on me. I continue to fit the pieces together and think this plan could work. She paints me to be jealous of her because of Arnold, but what if it were to be the other way around it would cut her and everyone else off guard? That the more I pushed it, the more others would take my side and not start an uproar she would have to crack? I still need to work out the pieces and the only person I know that could help me out is Rhonda. She's been observant of me, and I'm pretty sure she's been observant of Lila in the past and the people she associated with. I give her a call and thankfully she's still awake. "Rhonda, I think I may have just found a way to take care of this Lila situation. But I'd like to run things by you first before I can continue."

Confused, she asks, "Sure, Helga, what is it you need to know?"

Feeling stupid, I ask, "Has Lila ever been hit on by a girl before?"

She laughs and says, "I don't think so. If anything it's the guys' attention she always has. She enjoys the guys as far as I can tell. I've never seen a girl go up to her saying they really like her." I think I have the information I need but still need help from her, Phoebe, and Gerald.

With a sigh, I say, "Then she may just have her first."


End file.
